


Alliance

by Xenobia



Series: The "Alliance" universe [8]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Graphic Sex, M/M, Multi, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-08
Updated: 2012-11-08
Packaged: 2017-11-18 06:09:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 246,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/557760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xenobia/pseuds/Xenobia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Multi-chapter story.  Deepground wasn't completely vanquished in the events of Dirge of Cerberus.  Old allies are reunited and old enemies waken to challenge Cloud and his friends.  The WRO, ShinRa and Cloud's companions band together to end the threat.  The climax of the "Alliance" series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Alliance”

Chapter 1

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

 

Reno lay on his back on top of his boss’s desk, gripping the edge of it and moaning with pleasure as the president rutted over him.  His legs were hooked over his lover’s shoulders to allow greater penetration and his toes curled at the sensations he was getting.  His new pants were lying in a crumpled heap on the floor with his shoes and socks.  The hat that had come with the ensemble lay at the foot of the desk as well, forgotten in the heat of passion.  The only remaining clothing that the Turk wore was the two-button blazer, which was hanging open to bare his chest and stomach.

 

Rufus took him with enthusiasm that bordered on being out of control and Reno made a mental note to send Cloud something nice for picking out such a seductive outfit for him.  The president wasn’t completely out of his mind with lust—Rufus somehow retained enough sense to support the back of Reno’s head with his hands so that it wouldn’t bump against the desk while he had his way with him.  His handsome face was tense and flushed with passion as he gazed down at Reno and pumped his hips with hard, sharp motions. 

 

“One of these days,” Rufus panted, “You’ll be the death of me.”

 

Reno threw his head back and cried out as the other man emphasized his statement with an angled shove that slid hard against his internal gland.  “S-Sir,” the Turk whined, locking his ankles behind the sandy-blonde head.  He could empathize with Rufus, feeling like he’d die of pleasure himself if the man fucked him much harder.

 

“Wicked fox,” Rufus growled, panting through his teeth as he fought his impending orgasm.  He reached down with one hand and gripped the base of his thrusting sex firmly, refusing to let the encounter end anytime soon.  He continued to support Reno’s head with his other hand while he rotated his hips and moved his stiff shaft around inside of him.  Reno’s eyes fluttered shut and he tossed his head as he cried the president’s name desperately and pleaded with him.  He was obviously trying his best to hold back until given permission to come but he was rapidly losing the battle as the blonde’s thick hardness massaged him inside.

 

Rufus waited for a couple of moments, savoring the pained whimpers and moans of his subordinate.  He looked down at that feverish, handsome face and finally took pity on him.  “Let it happen, Reno.”

 

“Unh…Rufus!”  Reno’s back arched as he let himself go and spurted rapidly against the other man’s torso.  Rufus bent down to capture one of his pebbled nipples, sucking on it as he slid his cock forward and back inside of Reno’s clenching ass.  The stimulation and motions drew the orgasm out longer and when it ended, Reno felt like his bones had dissolved.  He smiled with bliss and looked up at Rufus, who was still fucking him slowly and gazing down at him with tense features.  The blonde was still rigid inside of him and Reno felt his curled fist pressing against him each time Rufus rocked forward. 

 

“You gonna fuck me all night, boss?” Reno panted.

 

“I’m certainly…going to try,” Rufus answered with a pained smirk. 

 

Reno closed his eyes again and swallowed as he caught his breath.  It felt so damn good and he knew it wouldn’t be long before the sensation of Rufus’s cock sliding in and out made him hard again.  Just as his breathing settled down, Rufus stopped his thrusting.

 

“Turn over onto your stomach,” the president ordered huskily.  He slipped out of Reno’s body, lifted his legs off of his shoulders and gripped the redhead’s shoulders, urging him to do as he was told.

 

Reno obligingly rolled over, scattering what few odds and ends Rufus hadn’t swept off of the desk before he’d pinned him to it.  When his chest and stomach were lying across the surface and his feet were firmly on the floor, Reno crossed his arms over the desk and pillowed his face on them, waiting for his boss to resume where he’d left off.  He purred as he felt the knob of Rufus’s condom-sheathed sex pressing into him again and he pushed his ass back invitingly.  His breath expelled in a whoosh as the other man drove into him with abrupt force, driving Reno’s pelvis forward to bump against the edge of the desk.

 

“Sonofa—” Reno began tightly as the president’s dick stroked the right spot in passing.  His groin stirred again and he moaned.  He’d be lucky if he could walk when Rufus was finished with him.

 

“Do we need a gag?” Rufus panted against his ear, brushing sweat-dampened locks away from the Turk’s face.

 

Reno shook his head and whimpered.  He didn’t want to be gagged…he needed the freedom to cry out when the sensations grew too strong.  Rufus was obviously in one of those moods where he preferred incoherent moans to commentaries and swearing.  It wasn’t easy for a blabbermouth like Reno to hold his tongue but he knew that his boss would force him to if necessary.

 

“Good,” Rufus grunted.  He slid his hands over Reno’s back, tracing the line of his spine through the blazer before running his hands down further to rub the smooth, firm mounds of his ass.  He started up a steady rhythm and gripped the Turk’s pale hips firmly, guiding him forward and back in synch with his thrusts.  He knew the redhead was getting hard again when he heard a telling, shaken moan. 

 

Rufus pumped harder and let his hands glide over Reno’s body now that the slimmer man had caught on to the rhythm he wanted.  He reached under Reno’s torso and stimulated his nipples for a bit, before dragging his hands down to his stomach and tracing his belly button.  He loved the feel of those lean muscles working under his hands.  While Reno’s agile, lanky build was well suited to fast combat moves and escapes, it was also quite useful in erotic situations.  The redhead’s body was honed for all of the muscles to work together with grace and his limberness was a definite bonus.

 

Reno’s breath caught as his boss gripped his stiffening cock and began to stroke it.  His other hand was rubbing his stomach in an oddly sensual way and Reno bit his lip and fought the urge to shout more obscenities.  He groaned sharply when Rufus bucked with sudden, aggressive vigor and the tip of his cock began to lubricate with precum.  Rufus stopped rubbing his belly to grip one of his hips again and the president changed his rhythm from hard, deep thrusts to rapid sharp ones.

 

“Oh god…oh shit, Rufus!” Reno howled before he could stop himself.  His whole body felt hot with carnal bliss and he couldn’t focus his vision.  He half expected the blonde to stop fucking him long enough to gag him, but Rufus evidently decided to allow the outburst to slide.  He kept up the pace, his rapidly thrusting shaft hitting Reno’s gland with punishing force over and over again.  After a moment he released the redhead’s hip to squeeze the base of his cock again and Reno knew he was in for a long night.

 

 Rufus kept jerking him off and screwing him until the Turk came again.  When Reno’s tremors subsided enough, the president stopped again and sat down in his chair.  He ordered his lover to sit on his cock with his back to him and Reno obeyed, his legs giving out as Rufus’s erection once again slid into his body.  The president guided Reno to spread his legs, straddling Rufus’s closed thighs so that the Turk could have some leverage.  Once he was satisfied with the position, he instructed Reno to start bouncing on his cock.  Whimpering, the redhead obeyed and Rufus fondled his softened prick while he rode him, making it harden again quickly.

 

“Boss,” Reno panted as he rocked up and down on the hard length of his arousal, “I dun’ think I’ve got anything left!”  He was trembling all over and his body was misted with perspiration.  Speaking coherent words was an effort for him and he wasn’t sure his announcement even made sense.

 

“Oh, but you do,” Rufus insisted in a seductive, husky voice.  He thrust beneath Reno, matching the redhead’s motions and driving himself deep into his gripping heat.  His breath caught as the pressure again built alarmingly and he hastily reached under Reno’s flexing bottom to restrict his cock again.  He groaned as he barely managed to hold the tide back and he rested his forehead on Reno’s tense back.  Reno had stiffened to complete arousal again and he was shuddering as the blonde’s merciless thrusts and fondling once again brought him steadily to climax. 

 

Rufus moaned with him as Reno came in his stroking hand and clenched around his cock.  Sheer power of will kept the president from opening his gripping hand and letting himself have the final ecstasy that his body so wanted.  He snarled silently and panted as his subordinate whimpered and bucked with his orgasm.

 

“Again,” Rufus demanded.

 

“And ya say _I’m_ gonna be the death of _you_!” Reno groaned desperately.  Rufus began moving inside of him again and Reno tilted his head back and went with it mindlessly.  The blonde lasted for another fifteen minutes before Reno climaxed once more and he gave in and came with him.

 

Rufus scooted the chair toward the desk as Reno began to topple with exhaustion, allowing the redhead to rest his arms and head on the surface.  He was still buried deep inside of him and he laid his cheek against Reno’s back and rested his hands on his pale, spread thighs.  Neither of them moved from the position as they recuperated.  Both men began to doze off and Reno was the one to break the silence. 

 

“Yo, can I call in sick tomorrow?” Reno mumbled.  “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk right and I’ll probably have to buy one of those doughnut pillows if I wanna even sit down to do paperwork.”  He yawned and wriggled a little in Rufus’s lap. 

 

The president sucked in a deep breath as the movement threatened to stir his groin again.  He really didn’t think that Reno could handle anymore tonight, so he cupped the Turk’s ass and lifted him enough to slip out of his warmth.  Once he was safely out of his lover’s body, Rufus embraced him and stroked his chest.

 

“Take a hot bath and use a cure materia on yourself before bed,” Rufus suggested.  “You’ve only recently returned to work and while I’m the owner of this organization, Tseng is still the head of the Turks.  You don’t want to make him regret reinstating you as second in command, do you?”

 

Reno sighed, practically sulking as his eyes fluttered shut.  “You’re cold, boss.”

 

Rufus chuckled and fought a yawn of his own.  “Just stay here tonight.  You can use my private bathroom and sleep with me in the office bedroom.  That’s an extra thirty minutes you’ll have to sleep in the morning before you have to get dressed and clock in.”

 

“Unless you bone me again,” Reno said, tossing a smirk over his shoulder at the blonde. 

 

“I promise not to ‘bone you’ again until you’ve had sufficient time to recover,” Rufus said solemnly, though his eyes flashed with amusement.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Nearly two months came and went.  Cloud’s business perked up again and Reno was almost back to his old routine.  His eyes were still a bit brighter than they once were, but the unnatural Mako glow was practically gone.  Reno’s enhanced dexterity remained intact, though his marksmanship declined to a less supernatural level.  The Turk and the fighter kept in touch with each other and met up sometimes on weekends to spend time together and satisfy their desires. 

 

Neither of them spoke of Rufus and his abrupt change of attitude toward Cloud, but Reno sorely wanted to tell his golden-haired lover that the president’s apparent coldness was nothing more than a sham created out of fear.  If anyone would have asked Reno why it was so important to him for Cloud and Rufus to admit how they felt and act as at least part-time lovers, he couldn’t have explained it.  He was free to have both of them now, without either one trying to get in the way and that should have been enough for him…but it wasn’t.  It was possibly because he thought they were so good together or possibly because he just plain got off on the idea of two hot blondes going to town…he really couldn’t decide what drove him.

 

The Turk was proud of himself.  He kept his business and pleasure separate and despite his personal desires, he stayed out of Rufus and Cloud’s relationship and simply hoped for the best.  He knew the truth and he forced himself to be content with that.  In the meantime, he spent his free time enjoying his lovers when the opportunity presented itself.  Rude told him that he didn’t understand how he managed to juggle all of them and his work, but Reno only laughed and explained it wasn’t much different from what a lot of other guys did.  At least he kept to the same four men.  He knew guys that had a half a dozen lovers or more and somehow, they kept all of them from knowing about one another.

 

The relationship that Reno had was very different from the sort that the other guys with multiple partners had.  He wasn’t “two-timing” anyone.  All of his partners knew about one another and even better, they had relations with each other as well.  The only two that hadn’t hooked up yet was Cloud and Rude.  Reno wasn’t concerned with that because he didn’t sense a real spark between them.  They liked one another and they were both quiet, mellow men.  They had developed a comfortable friendship that might not ever become something more, but there was no rivalry and they were at ease with each other.

 

It was a little funny how they all had their little circles within the circle.  Tseng kept mostly to Rufus, though he enjoyed dabbling with the others now and then.  Rude was much the same, except his partner was his favorite.  Cloud also kept mostly to Reno—but with any luck he’d spend more time with Rufus.  The president favored Reno and Tseng the most and as for Reno…well…being the horny little devil that he was, he was happy to jump any and all of them whenever the opportunity arose. 

 

Each of them had their own unique appeal to him.  Tseng was exotic, patient and a bit awe-inspiring.  Rude was his rock; the bald man was reliable and he always managed to make Reno feel safe and comforted when he was upset.  Rufus was charming, sexy and tactical both in the bedroom and outside of it.  Cloud was sweet and boyish yet wild and dangerous at the same time…a delicious contradiction that drew Reno’s attention from the beginning—even back when they were rivals.

 

Yes, Reno knew he was a very lucky man.  Most people never found lasting love with just one person in their lifetimes and he’d managed to find it with four.  He couldn’t imagine his life without them. 

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud began to realize something shortly after he’d returned home to his separate life: he slept a lot better with Reno beside him.  He never would have imagined himself to be the cuddly sort—he was used to sleeping alone, sometimes on the bare ground.  In his time staying with Reno, he’d taken the comfort of sleeping in his arms for granted and now that he only saw the Turk when they could arrange weekends together, he was painfully aware of how lonely his small bed was at night.

 

Tonight was such a night.  It was always worse the first two days after Reno stayed for the weekend or vice-versa.  They had to cuddle close to fit together in Cloud’s bed and when Cloud stayed at Reno’s place, they sprawled lazily over his larger bed.  Either way, the difference between having the redhead next to him and going to bed alone was always achingly acute after the weekend was over and they returned to their separate lives.

 

Cloud squirmed restlessly and locked his fingers behind his head, staring up at the ceiling with tired blue eyes.  He could hear Denzel playing his music downstairs and Tifa finishing up in the bar.  He shut the sounds out and let his mind wander into his broken past, trying to recall good memories.  He started thinking of Zack and he smiled a little as he began to fall asleep.

 

Zack.  He hadn’t been a bit like the other First Class soldiers.  He always made Cloud smile one way or another and he still managed to do it even though he was dead.  He’d always looked out for him and he’d always had a kind word or encouragement for him, even up to the very end and beyond that.  Cloud thought of his handsome face, engaging smile and friendly, amethyst eyes as he drifted off to sleep.  He still missed him.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

When he was in training, Cloud got called “Maggot” so often that he’d almost become convinced it was his name.  Molding people into the perfect soldiers required breaking down their identity, first.

 

It was because of this that he managed to goof up and act like a dingy blonde the first time he ever met a real First Class member of SOLDIER.

 

“If there’s a Mako reactor there, it usually means—” the black-haired First began.

 

“There’s not much else around,” Cloud finished with him, and they both laughed.

 

 “So what’s your name?” Zack asked, his teeth flashing in a friendly smile.

 

Cloud took of his helmet and returned the smile.  “Maggot,” he answered thoughtlessly.  He immediately heard what had just come out of his mouth and he felt his face grow hot enough to melt the snowflakes that fell onto it.  “I…I mean Cloud!  Cloud Strife.”

 

The Soldier laughed and the sound wasn’t at all mocking or forced.  It was a genuine, lively laugh that lit up his eyes and warmed the atmosphere around him.  “Basic training, am I right?” the Soldier asked with a grin. 

 

Cloud nodded, still blushing.  “How’d you know?”

 

The handsome First kept grinning at him in that engaging, friendly way.  “Because I’ve been there myself.  Don’t feel bad Cloud; for the first year I was in training I thought my name was ‘Dirt bag’.  Hey, we kind of fit together, now that I think about it.  Maggot and Dirt bag.”  He chuckled again and shook his head.  “Ah, memories.”

 

“So what IS your name?” Cloud asked shyly, smiling with amusement at the other young man’s sense of humor. 

 

“The name’s Zack,” answered the First.  “Zack Fair, at your service.”

 

The two chatted for a while as they trudged to Modeoheim.  Later that day, he got to see Zack in action for the first time and his admiration for him grew.  It was a shame that the demonstration he witnessed involved Zack having to kill his own friend, but his skill and cunning were amazing to Cloud.  Sephiroth was his original inspiration but Zack was tangible and real.  He protected Cloud and Tseng and got them safely back to Headquarters for medical attention, even though he’d lost so much in the process of doing it.

 

Cloud’s sleeping mind skipped past the memories of the pain in Zack’s eyes and how much he’d missed having him around when the company sent him on a “vacation” to Costa Del Sol.  He didn’t want to dream about the sad times…only the good ones that made him smile.  He’d done enough brooding over the sorrowful memories.

 

His dreams shifted to the time when he and Zack snuck out after hours and went to a bar together.  Zack had been disappointed that he couldn’t get Cloud sloppy drunk and it was then that Cloud informed him that the legal drinking age in his hometown was much lower than most other places.  Beer was nothing new to him and he wasn’t the lightweight that Zack had expected. 

 

They got caught when they returned to Headquarters and Cloud would have ended up on toilet duty for weeks if Zack hadn’t stuck up for him and taken full responsibility.  Cloud smiled in his sleep as he remembered how fiercely his friend had defended him from the horrors of scrubbing urinals.  He found himself standing outside of ShinRa headquarters, looking up at the familiar building silently. 

 

“Hey, did you ever notice how many places and things built by ShinRa ended up phallic-shaped?” An amused, masculine voice said beside him.

 

Cloud smiled and looked at Zack.  “Yeah, I noticed.  I always wondered about that.”

 

“Think maybe old man Shinra was trying to make up for something?” Zack suggested with a wicked grin.

 

“You should talk,” A female voice said from behind them.  They both turned as Aerith approached.  “You’d probably have it all built to look like breasts if you were in charge, Zackary Fair.”  Her sweet, teasing smile spoiled the accusation.

 

“See, there’s where you’re wrong,” Zack corrected with mock indignation, “It’s like you don’t know me at all!”  He gave Cloud a conspiratorial wink.  “I’d have it all built to look like butts.  I’m all about the ass.”

 

“Looking at them or acting like one?” Cloud quipped with a soft snicker.  He loved the brief moments he spent with his two friends, even if he really was crazy and just imagining them.

 

Zack gasped and gave him a staged, wounded look.  “That’s just mean, Chocobo head.”

 

Cloud shrugged.  “You left yourself wide open, man.”  He reached out and slapped the other man lightly on the back.  It felt oddly corporeal…not at all like a dream.  “So, butts, huh?  You never told me that.”

 

“Oh yeah,” Zack confirmed with a glint in his blue-violet eyes.  “I’m a sucker for a cute tushy.”  He leaned over a little and leered at Cloud’s backside, then did the same to Aerith as she came up beside the blonde.

 

“That’s so inappropriate,” chastised the Cetra girl.  “Look at what you’re doing to Cloud!”

 

Cloud never knew it was possible to blush in a dream but he could literally feel his face heating up.  Zack looked at him and laughed.

 

“Sheesh, you’d think I groped you or something, Cloud.  Lighten up a little!”  He reached out and caught the blond around the neck with one arm, dragging him against his chest despite his protests.  He rubbed his knuckles of his free hand rapidly over the crown of the struggling blonde’s head, generating static electricity and making the already spiky hair stick up even more. 

 

Even as Cloud cursed and grappled with Zack’s hold, he couldn’t help but notice how REAL it felt.  He could even smell the black-haired man’s scent.  Zack smelled faintly like sandalwood to him and he had almost forgotten that scent.  The only explanation he could think of was that his imagination was working overtime and applying the memory of what his friend smelled and felt like to the dream.  Outside of the trance world his friends had no substance at all when they visited him.  Even in the trance world, when he touched them or vice-versa it was never this solid before.

 

“Hey, lemme go!” Cloud grunted.

 

Zack complied with a grin, holding the blonde steady as he stumbled.  “I was just having a little fun, buddy.  It’s funny but I could swear you seem more solid to me than usual.”

 

Cloud stared at him with a severe frown.  If his friends were really here then it couldn’t be a coincidence.  Zack could tell the difference, too.  He looked at Aerith and decided to test it on her, too.  He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it as he looked into her eyes.  She smiled gently at him but the touch of her hand didn’t have the mortal warmth that Zack’s skin seemed to have.  It was the same temperature as the air around them and he felt no lines or other mortal skin imperfections to make her touch…human.

 

Cloud shot a suspicious look at her and turned his head to look at Zack…who was suddenly less corporeal.  In fact, he could see right through the former Soldier and though Zack’s lips were moving, he couldn’t hear a word he was saying.

 

Cloud released Aerith’s hand and took a step back, looking from her to Zack’s faded form.  “What’s going on?” he demanded, knowing beyond a doubt that something wasn’t right.

 

Aerith was gazing at him tenderly, her green eyes briefly flitting to Zack.  “Everything’s okay.”

 

Zack regained solid form again and he looked just as confused as Cloud.  He was patting himself down, obviously aware that he’d just faded momentarily.  “Uh, okay.  That was weird,” he said.

 

Cloud’s frown deepened and his eyes widened.  The distinctive criss-crossed scar on the left side of Zack’s jaw caused by Angeal’s strike was gone and his hair was different.  His raven hair looked thicker and softer and Cloud realized that Zack looked exactly as he had when they had first met outside Modeoheim, before he’d been scarred both physically and emotionally by the battle with his friend Angeal.

 

“Aerith, what’s happening to him?” Cloud asked, looking at the girl again.  She knew something…he could tell by the look in her eyes.

 

“He’ll be fine,” she assured him with a soft smile.  “Don’t get upset.”  She looked at Zack and sighed.  “We have to get going, you know.  We’ve overstayed ourselves.”

 

Zack grumbled.  “Can’t we just break curfew?  We never get to spend enough time with airhead, here.” 

 

He was practically sulking, which made Cloud smile sadly.  The blonde knew how his friend felt and he echoed his sentiments.  He didn’t understand why the rules were so restrictive either.

 

Aerith shook her head.  “I wish we could, but you know that isn’t how it works.”

 

Zack sighed and looked at Cloud, forcing a smile.  “Well, I guess we’ll see each other again sometime soon, Cloud.  Take care of yourself, okay?”

 

“I will,” Cloud promised.  “Uh, you too.  Though I guess neither of you have to worry about getting hurt anymore.”

 

Zack’s smile faltered.  “Maybe not physically.”  He scratched his head and looked uncomfortable with his attack of somberness.  “I’ll catch you some other time, kid.”  He gave him the customary mischievous grin that he normally did.

 

“Get plenty of rest, will you?” Aerith said as she leaned in to give the blonde a soft, airy kiss on the cheek.  “You and Zack will have time to catch up sooner than you think.”

 

Zack was already walking away and dissolving, so he didn’t hear her comment.  Cloud stared at her with a puzzled expression.  “I know something’s up.  Why don’t you just tell me?”

 

“I will if it goes how I hope,” she said evasively, smiling at him.  “Like I said, it’s going to be okay, Cloud.” 

 

She faded after that, leaving him alone in the street.  Cloud looked up at the ShinRa building that his mind had constructed and he sighed.  Now he had a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, but he wasn’t sure why.  The scenery blurred and faded around him and his mind fell deeper into sleep, blessedly free of further dreams.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Rufus had just sat down after having a meeting with a client when his office phone rang.  He sighed, setting his cup of coffee aside and pushing the button for the active line as he picked up.

 

“This is Rufus Shinra,” he said mechanically.

 

“Mr. President, it’s Reeve Tuesti.  I hope this isn’t a bad time?”

 

Rufus relaxed a little.  He’d come to genuinely like the engineer, though he kept his mannerisms cool and professional with him.  “Good afternoon, Reeve.  What can I do for you?”

 

“I just thought I’d call to tell you that you don’t need to arrange for someone to pick up the package your people found in Midgar.  I took the liberty of calling Cloud to get it and bring it to us, since he lives right there in the outer city.  I figured he could use the extra money and it would save us some time and resources.”

 

Rufus went still, his mind racing as the words sunk in.  “You…arranged for Strife to deliver THAT package?  The one that was found in the Deepground ruins?”

 

“Well, yes.”  Reeve’s voice sounded puzzled now.  “I thought it made practical sense.  He can get it to us faster than the people who found it and while we could send air transportation for it, the guy could use a little extra business.  Sir, is something the matter?”

 

Rufus had gone pale but he kept his voice steady.  “I wish you had contacted me first, before getting him involved.”

 

Now Reeve’s tone went into the authoritative “uncle” mode.  “What’s in this package, Mr. President?  Have you started something we’ll all regret?”

 

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Rufus said coldly.  “All you need know for the moment is that I’m acting in the best interests of the Planet.  When we get the package and I can confirm what it is, I’ll tell you more.  I don’t have time to explain further, I have to leave.”

 

“Leave, Sir?” Reeve’s voice had lost its paternal tone and became mystified.  “Leave for where?”

 

“Midgar, before it’s too late,” answered the president grimly.

 

   ~***************************~

* * *

“Come on!”  Rufus stood tensely and tapped his foot with impatience as he tried to reach Tseng.  His first choice had been Reno but the redhead was out on assignment with Rude and he had his phone switched off.  To Rufus’s dismay, he got Tseng’s answering service as well.  Today was clearly a busy day for the Turks and he didn’t have time to try and contact one of his preferred two pilots.

 

“I suppose I could commission a standard pilot,” Rufus mused as he tried calling Rude and failed to get an answer.  He shook his head and nixed the idea.  Tracking down an available pilot to fly him in a chopper would just take more time.  He was the only one that knew about the danger because he was the only one that the retrieval team had been able to contact for a report.  Rufus had called Reeve and asked him to arrange air transport to pick up the recovered goods but he hadn’t expected him to involve Cloud in it.

 

“I have no choice,” the president muttered as he checked his weapons, keys and wallet.  “I’ll have to fly myself to get there.”

 

He knew how to fly, of course…but he wasn’t practiced at it and he preferred for more skilled pilots to do the flying.  It made him a bit nervous to think of getting behind the stick when he hadn’t done so in years, but Rufus wasn’t a man to allow insecurities to stop him when he was set on something.  He locked up as he left his office and he hurried toward the elevators, informing his secretary that he was going out of town for the rest of the day and he couldn’t say when he’d be back.  As he got into the elevator he dialed the airport and ordered them to get a chopper ready for him.

 

~***************************~

**_A couple of hours later:_ **

~***************************~

* * *

 

“Are you sure you can get this there unharmed?”  The unfamiliar Turk and the WRO scientist beside her both looked very concerned and their eyes darted around nervously, as if expecting someone to jump out and attack them at any moment.

 

“I’ve got a good, solid storage compartment on my bike,” Cloud assured them.  “I’ve never had merchandise get damaged in the transport.”  He looked at the wrapped bundle in his arms and frowned at them both suspiciously.  “This isn’t anything flammable or poisonous, is it?” 

 

He knew better than to ask what it was exactly and since the WRO was involved, he wasn’t too worried about nefarious experiments, but it was still ShinRa he was dealing with and old habits died hard.  There was that and the way Reeve had told him to retrieve it from organization officials in the privacy of an old Midgar sector.  He did trust Reeve but he wondered if the engineer even knew himself what his company was doing.  If they didn’t want anyone to see him taking the package, didn’t that mean there was something to hide?

 

“Oh no,” the scientist assured him.  “Nothing of the sort.  It’s old data that we need to analyze.  It could prove to be something useful or it could be something we’ll need to destroy right away.  We won’t know until it’s brought to the research department and studied.”

 

Cloud was surprised that he’d parted with that much information.  He’d expected both the Turk woman and the scientist to be evasive at best, but neither one of them seemed concerned with telling him about the contents of the package.

 

_~Maybe Rufus or Reeve had a talk with them and told them I could be trusted.  I guess since they’re being so open it’s probably not anything bad.~_

“Don’t worry,” Cloud assured them.  “Call your bosses and let them know I’ll get it to them by tomorrow morning.  I’ve just got to fuel up my motorcycle and I’ll be on my way.” 

 

“Good,” said the Turk woman, “The sooner you leave, the better.”  She cast another look around the old sector and grabbed her companion’s arm.  “Come on, we have to get going.”  The scientist didn’t argue with her and they both hurried away toward one of the exits leading into Edge.

 

Cloud stared after them for a moment before looking down at the package in his arms. 

 

 _~Hmph.  Weird.  It’s like old Midgar has them spooked or something. ~_  

 

He still had his suspicions but he could ask more questions once he delivered the package.  He tucked it under his arm and left the area.  His senses were alert at first but when he found nothing suspicious, he shrugged it off as paranoia.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud could have given Fenrir a tune-up himself but he needed to eat before he left, so he took the bike to a trusted mechanic and paid him to do it while he bought a meal at a burger place a few blocks away.  He’d already called Tifa and told her he might not be back home until tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.  He’d learned to be more considerate of her and the kids when he wasn’t going to be around for a day or longer.  Marlene had informed him that it was just plain rude to take off for days without telling them he’d be gone, so now he always let Tifa know if for no other reason than to avoid a lecture from Barret’s adopted daughter.

 

After talking to Tifa, he turned his cellphone off so that he could travel without interruption.  Unbeknownst to him, his message box was filling up while he ate.  He finished his food and paid the bill and then headed out the door to return to the mechanic shop where he’d left Fenrir.   As soon as he walked out the door, he stopped in his tracks.  Rufus Shinra was walking toward him briskly, hardly paying attention to traffic as he crossed the street.  The president held his cellphone open in his hand and he was looking down at it with a frown of concentration.  He looked up when he stepped onto the sidewalk before Cloud and for a moment, the two of them stared at one another.

 

“Do you ever answer your bloody phone, Strife?”

 

The fighter cocked his head in puzzlement.  “What are you doing here?”  He started to reach for the sword strapped across his back through habit but he stopped himself.

 

“I’m picking you and the package up,” the other man informed him.  His gray eyes glanced around casually as he closed the distance and took Cloud by one arm.  “Come along, Cloud.”

 

“Uh, my bike’s the other way,” Cloud said with confusion.  “Wait, why are you doing this?  I mean, why did Reeve even give me this job if you were just going to come and get the package yourself?  Where are Reno and the others?”  He looked around for the Turks, finding it hard to believe Rufus had come alone.  “How did you find me so fast, too?”

 

 “My Turks are all out on assignment,” Rufus explained as he changed directions and urged Cloud to walk with him.  He decided to practice a little white lie until he could get them both to safety and explain further, “Reeve didn’t know that I was already prepared to retrieve the package when he called you.  I found out on my way to the airport and I decided to make the journey a bit easier for you.”

 

The president frowned at something over his left shoulder and his pace increased.  His grip on Cloud’s arm tightened and he urged the other blonde to move faster too.  “Don’t worry, you’ll still get full payment,” he assured him casually.

 

“That’s…great,” Cloud said, looking at Rufus with furrowed golden brows, “Why are we in such a hurry?  You didn’t answer my question about how you found me so fast, either.  It’s a big city and you just walked right up to where I was.”  Rufus was moving faster now and pulling Cloud along with him, nearly jogging.

 

_~Is he on something?  Or is this data so important he just can’t wait to get it back to his people? ~_

“You’re still using a company cellphone,” Rufus said with a sidelong smirk.  “Thank goodness for that.  I was able to track you with mine.”

 

“I knew I should have tossed that thing away,” Cloud grumbled.  “Er…Rufus…why are we running?”

 

“There’s never a bad time for exercise,” the president answered in such a solemn tone it was almost comical.

 

Cloud ogled him, sure now that he was either under the influence of some kind of drug or keeping something vital from him.  It was then that the fighter sensed it; someone or something was closing in on them.  Cloud had been too disoriented by the abrupt appearance of Rufus and his odd behavior to notice it before.  He started to reach for his weapon and Rufus was now dragging him at a full-on sprint.

 

“Tell me what’s going on,” Cloud demanded as he tried to free his weapon from its sheath and keep from stumbling at the same time.

 

Instead of answering him, Rufus suddenly shoved him rudely into an alleyway and whirled, reaching for the pistol under his blazer.  A shot rang out just as he drew it and Cloud shouted with alarm as the president was hit on the right side of his torso.  Rufus staggered from the impact but he didn’t stop his action.  He returned fire in the direction the shot had come from and civilians began to scream and scatter in all directions.

 

Cloud picked himself up off the concrete and yanked his sword out roughly.  Rufus ducked into the alley before he could move to help and the president caught him around the waist and pulled him against the wall.  Once that was done, Rufus held his weapon in both hands and turned his face away from Cloud toward the street.  He was panting softly but there wasn’t any blood on his suit around the bullet-hole that Cloud could see.

 

“You okay?” Cloud asked, staring at the other man with huge blue eyes as he held his sword ready.

 

Rufus released one hand from his weapon and tugged open the first two layers of his suit to reveal the bullet lodged into the protective vest he wore beneath.  He smirked without looking at Cloud.  “Do you still think I wear too many clothes, Strife?”

 

Cloud didn’t know what to say.  True, Rufus was protected around the torso but the man had literally taken a bullet for him and he couldn’t have known it wouldn’t hit an unprotected part of his body. 

 

“What the hell’s going on?” Cloud finally asked.

 

“The package you picked up was stolen,” informed Rufus.  “My people were sent to investigate what remained of the Deepground headquarters for any medical research that could prove beneficial.  They discovered that the organization isn’t completely dead after all and the remaining factions have been living here as citizens since your team and the WRO dispatched them.  They were discovered before they could finish their investigation.  That’s all I can tell you for now.”

 

Rufus ducked around the corner of the wall and fired a few more shots.  He grabbed Cloud’s arm urgently when he was satisfied that he’d bought an opening.  “Come on.  The crowds will offer cover for us.”  He was as cool and calm as if discussing the weather.

 

Cloud didn’t argue.  Together, they ran into the street where people were charging in all different directions to seek cover.  Cloud spotted a figure pacing them on the rooftops across the street.  He stopped abruptly and gathered energy into his body and through his blade.

 

“Cloud, what are you doing?” Rufus hissed, skidding to a halt to stare at the other blonde with more impatience than alarm.

 

He had his answer when the swordsman heaved a grunt and slashed downwards with his weapon.  A blue streak of energy raced from the blade toward an abandoned building across the street and there was a rather impressive explosion as it hit the structure and sent it crumbling down—along with one of their pursuers that Rufus hadn’t spotted until now.

 

“Destruction of city property,” Rufus said dryly.  “Effective, but as subtle as a behemoth in a glassware shop.”

 

“The dust’ll buy us more time,” Cloud barked as he started off again and grabbed Rufus by the arm.  Indeed, the billow of dust and debris that resulted from the collapsing of the building quickly filled the street.  Rufus narrowly avoided getting bowled over by a panicked citizen as he and Cloud’s positions were reversed and the fighter dragged him along.  They ran for two blocks, keeping an eye out for signs of the enemy.  Considering that the Deepground remnants looked like regular civilians it wasn’t easy to tell who was a threat and who wasn’t.

 

“How many are there?” Cloud asked as he pulled the president with him through the doors of the mechanic shop. 

 

“I’ve got no idea,” Rufus said.  “I didn’t even know they existed until I was contacted about the package.  We lost three people in the data retrieval.  The team didn’t know there was still active members of Deepground until they found the data and the surviving two only had time to inform me about it.  I was going to send someone to pick them up but I made the mistake of keeping information from Reeve and he assumed it was an ordinary retrieval…which is why he called you.”

 

Rufus hushed up when one of the mechanics came around from the back and he shot Cloud a warning look.  The fighter understood and he greeted the mechanic.

 

“Is my bike ready?” Cloud asked as the guy stared from him and Rufus to the spectacle of people running back and forth outside.

 

“Uh, yeah…what the hell’s going on out there?”  The mechanic eyed Cloud’s thick, formidable weapon with amazement.

 

“A building collapsed,” Cloud said.  “I had to block some of the debris to keep it from hitting anyone.”  It was a perfectly logical explanation and thankfully Rufus had already put away his gun to reduce suspicion.

 

“Wow, things are never dull around here,” the mechanic chuckled nervously.  He reached into his pocket and produced a set of keys, which he tossed lightly to Cloud.  The fighter caught it and the mechanic went to the checkout desk and wrote on a piece of paper sitting there.  “That’ll be one-hundred and seventy-five gil, Mr. Strife.”

 

“I’ve got it,” Rufus said.

 

“No you don’t,” countered the fighter as he nudged in front of Rufus and pulled out his wallet.  He tossed some bills onto the counter before the president could argue with him.  “Keep the change,” he said to the mechanic.  The man looked at Rufus and a light of recognition lit his eyes.

 

“Hey, are you Rufus Shinra?”

 

Rufus stopped on his way out the door behind Cloud.  He smiled over his shoulder at the mechanic.  “No, but I get that a lot.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Wait,” Cloud said as Rufus got onto Fenrir behind him.  “Tifa and the kids.  We can’t leave them here.”

 

“Those people are after us, not them,” reasoned the president.

 

“Yeah, and if they’re after me they probably know about them too.  I’m not going to take the risk that these guys will use them as leverage.  We’ve got to stop by my house and get them.”

 

Rufus grimaced, annoyed with himself for not thinking of that.  It was odd how Cloud could be so clueless one moment and so sharp the next.  “Very well, Strife.  There’s plenty of room on the helicopter for them but I wonder how you intend to carry that many people on this motorcycle.”

 

“Tifa’s got a car,” the fighter said as he looked around furtively for any suspicious characters.  It seemed that he and Rufus had shaken off the pursuit, at least for the time being.  He started up Fenrir and advised Rufus to hold on tight.  The other blonde embraced him from behind and Cloud suffered a brief moment of inappropriate warmth toward the president.  He peeled out onto the street and kicked the bike into gear, heading for the bar/house he shared with Tifa and the kids.

 

_~I hope this Deepground shit doesn’t start all over again.  I want to know what kind of research they snagged from those people to get them stirred up like this. ~_

~********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued 


	2. Chapter 2

“Alliance”

Chapter 2

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

When Cloud came into the bar with Rufus Shinra, Tifa knew something was up.  The urgent expression on her friend’s face confirmed it as he hurried to the serving bar and motioned her over to him.  She finished mixing a drink and gave it to the waiting customer before closing the distance to Cloud. 

 

“What’s wrong?”  She murmured in a low voice as she leaned over the surface of the bar.

 

“Are Denzel and Marlene home from school yet?” Cloud asked.

 

She nodded, alarm bleeding into her expression.  “They have been for a good fifteen minutes, at least.  Cloud; tell me what’s going on.  They just announced on the news that a building collapsed on the other side of the city!  Did you have anything to do with that?”

 

Cloud glanced up at the television suspended from the ceiling and he saw the news broadcast she was talking about.  He looked at it briefly before giving her his attention.  “Actually, yeah.  I did it to shake off our pursuers.  We’ve got to get the kids and get out of Edge.  Rufus has a helicopter waiting outside town to take us to Junon.”

 

Her dark eyes widened and went from Cloud to Rufus and back again.  She knew better than to slow things down with a lot of questions, having come to respect her friend’s judgment in crisis situations.  “You’d better explain all of this when we get on board,” she hissed before turning around to get the attention of one of the barmaid she’d hired.  The young woman hurried over and Tifa whispered something to her.  Sandra frowned at what she said but she nodded and patted Tifa on the arm.  The brunette came back to where Cloud and Rufus waited and she ducked under the divider and took her apron off.

 

“Okay, Sandra’s going to finish up the night for me and close.  Let’s go upstairs to the house.”  Tifa said.  She’d had the other women under her employment for more than a year now and she knew she could trust her.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Rufus again surprised Cloud by helping them hastily pack a few things.  Being used to calamities by now, neither of the kids argued with Tifa and Cloud when they told them to select some clothes and a reasonable amount of other things they’d like to take with.  Marlene went a little overboard with her dolls and she was visibly upset when Tifa told her she could only take two of them, but she didn’t fuss about it.  Once again, the president showed unexpected consideration.

 

“There’s enough room for more,” he assured Tifa and Marlene as he looked around at the doll collection.  “She can bring as many as she can pack in five minutes.”

 

Marlene looked absolutely thrilled and she thanked him with charming sincerity.  Rufus cracked a smile at the girl and continued helping Tifa to pack her clothes.  Cloud stared at the man for a moment before leaving the room to toss some of his own clothes into a bag.

 

_~He’s actually nice to kids!  What the hell…oh, wait a minute.  I think I get it.  I know he never got along with his father and I never saw or heard anything about his mother.~_

It hit Cloud for the first time.  Part of the reason Rufus Shinra was so cold and detached was because he had attachment issues from childhood.  He’d heard about the condition before from news reports and various specials on television.  Tifa was always watching stuff like that, having a weird fascination with the human psyche. 

 

_~No wonder she’s so good at lecturing.  She should think about taking a course on psychology sometime.  Heck, she might even make a good shrink.~_

He remembered to call Barret and let him know he was taking Marlene to Junon.  The big man was due to finish his latest job in a couple of weeks and he’d want to visit with his daughter.  As he packed, Cloud dialed the number and waited, hoping he wasn’t catching him out on the field.

 

“Hey, Spiky!”  Barret said as he answered the cell.  “Wasn’t gonna answer it ‘till I saw it was you.  How’s Marlene?”

 

“She’s fine,” Cloud assured him with a smile, unsurprised that the first thing his friend asked about was his daughter.  “I just called to tell you that Tifa and I are taking the kids to Junon for a while.  Something’s come up and I don’t have time to explain but Rufus is going to fly us—”

 

“Whoa, hold it,” Barret interrupted gruffly, “Did you just says ‘Rufus’?  My daughter ain’t going anywhere with that piece of shit!”

 

Cloud sighed and tossed a couple of sweaters and t-shirts into his bag.  “Listen, I don’t have a choice.  Believe it or not, the safest place in the world for her to be right now is under ShinRa protection.  I know you don’t like it but sooner or later everyone’s going to have to put aside their personal feelings and work together, okay?”

 

“No, it’s not ‘okay’,” Barret said stubbornly.  “That sonofabitch almost got Tifa killed and I would have been next!  I don’t trust him, especially with Marlene!”

 

“Tifa’s put that in the past,” Cloud argued with annoyance, “you should move on too.  I haven’t forgotten what Rufus did but I’m telling you, he’d never hurt a kid.  What’s more important to you, Barret; your grudge or your daughter’s safety?”

 

Barret grumbled something rude under his breath before answering.  “Fine, but I’m heading over there as soon as I finish this job and if anything happens to Marlene—”

 

“I’ll personally bend over so you can kick my ass into next week,” Cloud finished for him.  “At least trust Tifa, would you?  You know she’d die before she let anything happen to her.  I’ll call you back later and tell you what’s going on, okay?”

 

“Grrr…okay.  It better be something damn important.”

 

“It is,” Cloud confirmed.  “I’ll talk to you later, Barret.”

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

Fifteen minutes later they piled everything into Tifa’s car and left.  Rufus rode on the back of Fenrir with Cloud…more out of courtesy for Tifa than lack of room for him in the car.  The president was aware that Lockheart still wasn’t comfortable around him and he didn’t want to deal with the awkward silence that would have ensued on the drive to the waiting helicopter.  They loaded Fenrir into the cargo compartment first and then put the luggage in before boarding the aircraft. 

 

Denzel was excited about flying for the first time but Marlene was petrified.  The little girl sat between Tifa and Denzel and she hugged one of her dolls as Cloud buckled her into her seat and he noticed her fearful expression.

 

“Don’t worry Marlene.  President Shinra won’t let us crash, okay?  It’s only a short flight to Junon and Tifa and Denzel are right beside you.”  He smiled softly at her and squeezed her shoulder as he finished securing her seatbelt. 

 

“Okay Cloud,” she said in as brave a tone as she could muster.

 

Cloud got into the co-pilot seat in the cockpit and looked over at Rufus as the president finished securing his seatbelt and eyed the console.  The frown of concentration on Rufus’s face wasn’t encouraging.

 

“You know what you’re doing, right?” Cloud asked.

 

“I made it here, didn’t I?” Rufus answered absently.  He pushed a button and Tifa and the kids gave a start as the cabin door slid open.  Rufus grimaced and pushed the button again, closing the door.  “No…it’s…this one,” he muttered as he selected a different one.  This time there was a hiss of air as the compression mechanism kicked in to help regulate the air pressure within the craft. 

 

Rufus sighed a little in relief before pushing the ignition button.  As the rotaries started up, he noticed Cloud studying him warily and he looked at the other blonde with annoyance.  “What?” Rufus snapped.  “If you believe you could do a better job, feel free to change places with me.  I don’t have Reno’s flying skills but I’ll get us off the ground and to Junon safely, Strife.”

 

“I didn’t say anything,” Cloud answered with a shrug.  He covered his mouth and coughed to hide a smile, knowing Rufus’s pride and having the sense not to wound it.  He was a bit nervous about the president’s ability to get them safely in the air—let alone back down again without crashing—but he figured that if the man could get himself here without help he could get them all back, too.

 

“Just…make sure your seatbelt is secure,” Rufus muttered as he placed his earphones on his head. 

 

Cloud did the same, keeping a straight face with difficulty.  He knew it was totally inappropriate but there was something…cute…about the way Rufus was acting.  The man was trying his best to cover up his uncertainty and it just made it funnier to Cloud—perhaps because he wasn’t used to seeing Rufus Shinra anything less than completely confident.

 

The helicopter lurched off the ground and began to ascend.  Rufus held the stick in a white-knuckled hand, his lips pressed together with grim determination.  For a moment, the chopper tilted alarmingly to the left and everyone grabbed onto their seats with terror.  Tifa threw an arm around Marlene protectively and Denzel forgot his manners.

 

“Whoa, shit!” the young teen swore.

 

“Hey!” Cloud and Tifa both snapped in conjunction.  Cloud turned around in his seat to shoot a warning look at the boy and Tifa was frowning at him severely.

 

“Sorry,” Denzel muttered, cringing.  “Even though I hear you two say that word every day,” he finished under his breath.

 

Rufus smirked a little as he steadied the chopper.  Denzel didn’t realize how lucky he was to have two parent figures that cared enough to teach him proper manners…even if they weren’t biologically related to him.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

As soon as they landed at the Junon airport, Reno came jogging up to the helicopter.  “Yo, what’s this all about, boss?” the redhead demanded as soon as Rufus opened the pilot side door and stepped down.  “I’ve been worried out of my goddamned mind!  Ya should have left me a voice message or something and I would have come right here to fly you!  All I knew was I came back to report to ya and they said you took off in one of the choppers!  Reeve called and said something about a package…”

 

Rufus crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows, waiting for Reno’s tirade to finish.  The Turk seemed to realize how horribly disrespectful and over reactive he was being and he stammered into silence, clearing his throat.

 

“I mean is there anything I can help ya with, Sir?” Reno finished demurely.

 

Cloud climbed out of the aircraft next and Reno’s eyes lit up when he spotted him.  Tifa and the kids exited and the redhead’s elation turned to confusion.  “What’s goin’ on?” he asked, looking from the assembled group to his employer with narrowed eyes.

 

“I’ll explain everything once we have our guests settled in,” answered the president.  “Help them with their luggage while I arrange a board meeting, will you?”

 

Reno shrugged and walked around to the cargo hold.  He reached out and gave Cloud’s arm a squeeze of greeting, wanting to do something much more intimate but having enough sense not to do it right in front of Tifa and the children. 

 

“Hi Mr. Reno,” Marlene said to him as he opened the door.  “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

 

He gave the little girl a grin and ruffled her hair.  “Me too, kiddo.  Thanks.”

 

Denzel climbed in and started handing out bags.  The kid was growing fast and Reno predicted that he was going to be pretty tall by the time he got through his teen years.  Judging by the amount of luggage they had brought, they were prepared to stay in Junon for a long time—which suited Reno just fine.  It had only been a couple of days since he’d last visited his golden-haired lover but knowing that Cloud would be more easily accessible for a while gave him a thrill.

 

After all of the luggage was loaded onto a trolley, Reno separated from them to take the package to the research department and finish up some paperwork before the meeting.  Rufus guided them into the Headquarter building to get them settled in and discuss arrangements during their stay.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“I could arrange for the four of you to stay at a good hotel or a rental home while you’re here,” Rufus explained as Cloud’s group followed him to the elevator, “but honestly, I’d prefer that you stay here in the company suites until we can determine that it’s safe to do otherwise.  I’ve already arranged rooms for you, in fact.  Cloud, yours is right beside Reeve’s personal suite and Tifa’s is on the other side.  The children can stay together in a suite right across the hallway.  Each one has a kitchenette, so you can either make your own meals or order room service.  The services are complimentary, of course.  What do you think?”

 

Cloud and Tifa stared at the president, overwhelmed by his hospitality and quick organization.  They looked at each other and shrugged.  “I think it sounds reasonable,” Tifa said slowly.  “It’s very…considerate of you, President Shinra.”

 

“Considering that it’s largely my fault that you’re in this situation, it’s only fair,” Rufus answered casually.  The elevator doors opened and he held them, gesturing for Tifa and the kids to go in first while Cloud pushed the luggage trolley behind them.  Once they were all inside he selected the floor he wanted and continued to explain. 

 

“We have a Laundromat, as you may remember, Cloud.”  He glanced at Marlene and Denzel and frowned a bit.  “I’m afraid we don’t have much in the way of entertainment for children, but there’s a racket-ball court in the gym, plenty of exercise machines and a swimming pool.  There’s an arcade across the street next to the materia shop, but I wouldn’t recommend going there without an escort until we’re certain there are no Deepground forces in Junon.”

 

Marlene and Denzel both nodded, their eyes wide in their young faces.  Cloud almost chuckled at them.  Rufus Shinra was a man who commanded respect, even when he was being unfailingly polite.  There would be no backtalk from either of them.

 

“Now, as for schooling,” Rufus began.  The children groaned and he raised an eyebrow at them.  “Ignorance isn’t ‘cool’, and you aren’t on vacation.”  The kids stifled their dread and Rufus smiled a bit and looked to Cloud and Tifa.  “I’m sure you’ll want their education to continue during your stay.  There’s an excellent private school on Macy Street…”

 

Cloud and Tifa both made a face and Rufus chuckled.  “…but I can see that you’d prefer something a bit more liberal.  Very well, the public school in this district is very good too.  I can arrange for an escort to take the kids to and from classes each day, if you’d like.”

 

“That’s really generous of you,” Cloud said uncomfortably.  “I don’t want us to be any trouble.”

 

“All it takes is a phone call and some paperwork,” Rufus assured, “It’s really no trouble and I’m quite used to filling out paperwork, by now.”

 

Marlene and Denzel shared a look.  Both of them had fantasized about having a rich uncle but Mr. Shinra wasn’t exactly what they’d had in mind.  They’d always pictured a jolly man that showered them with gifts and let them do whatever they wanted.  The president was forcing them to go to school and it wouldn’t surprise either if them if he had someone check on their homework every night, too.  Marlene thought the man was very strict and responsible and she wondered if he had kids of his own.

 

“Mister Shinra, do you have any kids?” the little girl asked with innocent candor.

 

Cloud’s stifled a chuckle and Tifa coughed, while Rufus looked a bit surprised by the question.  He gathered his wits and shook his head.  “I’m afraid not, Marlene.  I suppose if I did, I wouldn’t be such a joy-killer.  I’m sure you and Denzel can think of at least a dozen other things you’d rather be doing than schoolwork, after all.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” she answered plainly, grinning up at him.  “But Cloud and Tifa make us go to school too, so I guess all grown-ups are ‘joy-killers’.”

 

Rufus gave her a rare, genuine smile of amusement.  “I suppose we are.”

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

After they got settled in, Cloud and Tifa allowed the kids to go swimming while they got ready for the meeting Rufus had organized.

 

Cloud had just finished having a shower and was changing into a clean set of clothes when there was a knock on his door. 

 

“Just a minute,” he called as he shrugged into a button-up, white shirt.  He’d almost thrown on a t-shirt to go with the denim jeans but since there was going to be a meeting, he’d decided to go with the dressier shirt.  He began buttoning it as he crossed the room and opened the door.  Reeve stood there, with Vincent at his side.

 

“We heard that you and Tifa were staying here with the kids but I wasn’t sure I believed it,” the engineer said with a smile.  “I never would have thought Tifa would have allowed it.”

 

“Well, there’s more important stuff happening right now than her grudge,” Cloud shrugged as he stepped aside to let his friends in.  “When did you two get here?”

 

“About twenty minutes ago,” answered Vincent, his crimson eyes studying Cloud with interest.  “You look…different.  Is this your regular attire now?”

 

Cloud laughed and shook his head.  “No, I just wouldn’t feel right being in a room full of suits in a t-shirt and sneakers.  I’ve got to at least try to look a little professional.”

 

“Did you get all of my messages?” Reeve asked as he closed the door behind him.  “I sent five of them, trying to warn you about the package once I found out it wasn’t exactly a typical delivery.”

 

Cloud winced.  He’d forgotten all about turning his phone back on and checking his in-box.  “No, but Rufus came and got me before any harm was done.  We had a little scuffle with some Deepground guys I didn’t even know were still around but nobody was hurt…except maybe one of the bad guys.”

 

“Yes, I saw the building collapse on the news report,” Reeve said dryly.  “I suppose one of your infamous sword techniques was responsible for that?”

 

Cloud flushed a little.  “You know me…I overdo it sometimes.”

 

“A crude but effective method of combat,” Vincent observed.  “I was most impressed.”

 

 Cloud grinned at that.  Vincent hid it well but he had an appreciation for destruction that would surprise many people.  “Uh, thanks.  So do you have any idea what was in those documents, yet?”

 

“We’ve had people working on it since you arrived,” Reeve explained.  “So far they’ve confirmed that it has to do with the ‘G-project’ that professor Hollander was working on before his demise.  Do you remember Hollander and Genesis, Cloud?”

 

Cloud nodded and frowned.  “A little.  I didn’t know a lot about them but I remember Tseng and I getting our asses handed to us by Angeal when we tried to capture Hollander, and Zack showing up to protect us.  Genesis is a little fuzzy in my memories…did he have a thing for poetry?”

 

“Yes, he was obsessed with ‘Loveless’, in fact,” Reeve confirmed.  “Well, as you may have guessed, he was the primary achievement in Hollander’s experiments, while Sephiroth was Hojo’s crowning glory.  There were flaws, however.  Anyone infused with G cells eventually began to deteriorate, as Genesis did.  If my people are right, Deepground may have found a way to stop that.”

 

“So you think Deepground might be trying to recreate Genesis?” Cloud reasoned, feeling a chill go down his spine.  If they could do that, odds were they could do the same with Sephiroth and he’d had quite enough of that to last a lifetime. 

 

“Or they could be experimenting on themselves with the research,” Reeve answered with a shrug.  “It remains to be seen.  I’m confident that President Shinra will make the right call as far as what’s to be done about this.  The research could be used as a bridge for other medical research, in the right hands.  However, it could just as easily be too dangerous to leave in existence.  We’ll have to wait and see.”

 

Reeve’s cellphone rang before Cloud could respond to that and the WRO director retrieved it from an inner pocket of his long jacket and answered it.  Cloud and Vincent listened in silence as he spoke with someone on the other line for a few moments before hanging up.

 

“That was Tseng,” Reeve informed them, “The meeting is going to start soon, so I suggest we make our way to the board room now.”

 

Cloud finished buttoning up his shirt and straightened it out before walking out with his two companions.  “I suppose Tifa’s invited?” he asked uncertainly.  He thought it was important for her to be included in the meeting but he wasn’t sure whether the company wanted her involved or not.

 

“Of course,” Reeve answered lightly.  “She’s involved in this too and she should know what’s happening and have the opportunity to add her own input.”

 

They stopped by her suite and by the look on her face when she answered the door and they told her what was happening, Tifa wasn’t very thrilled.  “What is there to discuss?” she asked plainly, “If this research is dangerous, they should just get rid of it.”

 

“But it could also prove beneficial in the fight against disease,” Vincent reminded her softly.  “You should come to the meeting and voice your concerns, at any rate.”

 

She sighed.  “Okay, give me a minute to run a brush through my hair and I’ll come along.  I’ll leave a note on Denzel’s door telling him where we’ve gone.”

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

All of the highest-ranking Turks were there, some of whom Cloud didn’t recognize.  The Turk woman that had given him the package to deliver was there too, as was her scientist companion.  There were several executive types as well, all of them wearing WRO badges.  Rufus waited until everyone had gotten their refreshments and sat down before he began.  Cloud sat down next to Reno and Tifa took a seat on his other side.  Rude and Tseng were sitting directly across from them and they exchanged friendly nods with Cloud as the meeting began.

 

“I called this meeting because during an investigation of what we assumed to be the abandoned former Deepground facilities, the team we sent came across important research documents pertaining to the ‘G-project’ that Professor Hollander had been working on.  As most of you know, my father started Deepground behind my back.  Professor Hojo, Scarlet and Heidegger were all in on it.  The goal was to create an elite battle unit of soldiers that were subjected to higher levels of Mako conditioning than average.  We didn’t learn of this project until the Omega incident occurred, unfortunately.”

 

He paused, thinking of other things he hadn’t discovered until years later. 

 

“You all know what happened when Deepground made itself known to the world and I’m sure we’d all prefer not to think about those dark times,” Rufus continued.  “Moving along to the present, we’ve lost people that were on the investigative team.  Only two made it out with the documents, which are now being thoroughly examined by our research team.”  He didn’t mention that he’d rushed to pick up the documents himself…doing so would only open the can of worms that was his unexpected feelings for Cloud Strife, and he really didn’t wish to discuss that here.

 

“The research has the potential to provide medical breakthroughs,” he went on.  “But we must assess the risk versus the rewards, first.  While it would be a wonderful thing to invent new treatments for debilitating illnesses, we can’t overlook the possibility that this research may prove more dangerous than beneficial.  I’m leaving that up to our science department to determine.”

 

“So what are we doing until then, Sir?” Reno asked, speaking the question that was on everyone’s mind.

 

“We’re going to try and put a stop to Deepground’s operation before history can repeat itself,” Rufus answered.  “We don’t know how many operatives remain but we can’t allow them to build their forces up again.  I want strike teams assembled and sent in to clean their base of operations up…preferably without drawing a lot of media attention.  We don’t need an international panic on our hands.  Members of the militia, the Turks and the WRO will be chosen to commence with the operation in two days’ time.  Anyone else wishing to volunteer will be welcome to join in the effort.”  He looked at Cloud and Vincent as he spoke the last sentence and both men nodded.

 

“I’m in too,” Tifa insisted.  “I don’t want to give those people a chance to rise up again.”

 

Rufus nodded.  “Excellent.  The teams will be assembled and transported to old Midgar on Friday morning.  I want the entrances to the old city to be blocked off from civilians and should anyone ask, we’re there to check for toxins and do a simple clean up of the old sectors for public safety.  We must do our best to keep this incident out of the public, despite the incident that happened earlier today.  It’s getting late, so everyone should try to get some rest and take care of any unfinished affairs before Friday.  The meeting is adjourned.”

 

People began to file out and Rufus asked for Cloud to stay behind and talk to him.  The fighter shrugged at Tifa and did so.  “What’s the matter?” he asked the president once they were alone in the boardroom. 

 

“I thought I should tell you that one of the names listed on the research documents was Zackary Fair,” Rufus said without sugar-coating it.  “Since the two of you were so close, I wanted you to know before the strike.  Your name also came up.”

 

Cloud paled a bit and swallowed.  Of course, he’d known that Zack had been subjected to experiments during the time they were both prisoners in Hojo’s secret lab, but what Rufus was saying suggested that Hollander had a bit of fun with he and his old friend, too.  He had very foggy memories of Professor Hollander trying to get his hands on him when he was helpless with Mako poisoning.  Zack stopped him but it didn’t mean he hadn’t already done something to them before.  “What do you think we’re going to find in that place, Rufus?”

 

“I wish I knew,” the president answered.  “I only wanted you to hear it from me first, and I didn’t want to inform you in front of everyone else.  You may find more information concerning what was done to both of you in the time you were experimented on, so be prepared.”

 

Cloud nodded and his blue eyes were full of dread that he couldn’t disguise.  Rufus surprised himself by reaching out and squeezing the other blonde’s shoulder.  “Are you still up for this, Cloud?  You don’t have to participate, you know.”

 

Cloud was just as surprised by the comforting gesture as Rufus.  He glanced down at the hand squeezing his shoulder before nodded and pressing his lips together with determination.  “I’m up for it.  I can’t let this information spook me out of doing what’s right.  You guys are going to need me if things get ugly.”  He wasn’t bragging about his skills—merely stating a fact.

 

Rufus nodded slowly.  “You certainly are heroic, Strife.  I don’t know that I could press on with this if I were you.”  He was captivated by the fighter’s unfailing bravery and before he knew what he was doing, he slid his hand up to cup the back of his head and he guided Cloud’s mouth to his for a kiss.

 

Cloud didn’t move at first and Rufus wondered if he’d made an error of judgment.  He was about to pull away when the other blonde returned the pressure of his mouth and kissed him back.  There was no urgency in the exchange.  It was an unhurried expression of feeling on both sides and it lasted for a couple of moments before they broke away and stared at one another.

 

“Now look what you’ve done,” Rufus said dryly, his voice slightly breathless.  “I’ve turned into a sap.”

 

Cloud smiled before he could help himself.  “Well, I’ve gotten more ruthless, so we’ve both influenced each other some.”

 

“Hmmm, a ruthless Strife is probably the sort we need right now,” Rufus said seriously.  “Don’t hesitate to use it to your advantage when the time comes.”

 

“The more these things happen, the harder it is for me to hold back,” Cloud sighed. 

 

“That isn’t such a bad thing, considering that our opposition isn’t likely to hold back at all,” Rufus insisted.

 

“Yeah, I guess so,” agreed Cloud reluctantly.  “I just hate stooping to their level.”

 

Rufus considered inviting Cloud to his office to spend the night with him, but considering the high amount of stress he sensed within the young man, he thought better of it.  There would be plenty of time to invest in some intimate time with the fighter later, after the raid on the Deepground facilities was finished.  He truly didn’t know what the strike teams might find in there and he knew that there was probably still a lot his father had kept from him that he hadn’t discovered yet.

 

Instead of making advances on him, Rufus patted his shoulder again and advised him to get some rest.  “Frankly, I’m exhausted after today,” the president said, “and though you’ve got SOLDIER enhancements, I’m sure you’re at least a little tired yourself.  If anything more of significance is discovered by the research team between now and Friday, I’ll be sure and let you know.”

 

Cloud nodded, gazing at Rufus with thoughtful eyes.  “You really have changed.”

 

“Oh, not so much, I imagine,” the president said with a smile. 

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud spent the next two days dividing his attention between the kids, Reno and training. Tifa sparred with him and so did Reno and Tseng.  To their surprise, Rude was assigned as Denzel and Marlene’s escort to and from school.  Cloud felt a little bad because he didn’t think the bald man was thrilled at being a babysitter.  He apologized to him the night before the raid was scheduled.

 

“I’m sorry about that, Rude.  Everything’s been happening so fast I didn’t even think to tell Rufus that he didn’t need to assign anyone to escort the kids.  Tifa and I could have done that.”

 

The bald man shrugged.  “The president thinks anyone interested in trying anything with the kids would think twice with me there.  I guess he doesn’t think you and Tifa have the right look to scare anyone off.”

 

Tifa coughed into the can of soda she was drinking and excused herself, fighting giggles.  Cloud grinned up at the big Turk and he was forced to agree that Rude’s intimidating, sharp appearance would probably deter potential kidnappers before they even tried to act.  “Are you sure you don’t mind?  ‘Cause I can talk to him…I know you’ve got better things to do as a Turk.”

 

Rude looked stoic, as always.  “I’m serving the interests of the company and to tell you the truth, this is almost like a vacation for me.  Once we get through the Deepground raid we can see what happens.  Besides, they’re good kids.  I don’t mind, man.”

 

Cloud was a little surprised.  He didn’t think Rude cared one way or the other but then, the man wasn’t exactly an open book.  “Thanks.  I’m sure Denzel’s going to love showing up with you, anyhow.  He thinks your cool.”

 

“He does?” Rude asked, a faint smile cracking his cool mask.

 

Cloud nodded.  “Yeah.  You’ve got the whole ‘secret agent’ vibe working for you.  Don’t let it go to your head, okay?”

 

Rude cleared his throat but Cloud could tell he was very pleased.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

The big day came around and Cloud and Tifa rode in the helicopter with Tseng’s team, while Vincent and Reeve took a different one.  Everyone was hyped up with adrenaline, ready and willing to kick ass.  Those who had been involved in the previous skirmishes with Deepground were especially thirsty for action, having seen for themselves what the organization could do if given half the chance. 

 

By the time they landed in old Midgar, the barricades were already in place to keep the citizens of Edge out of the old sectors.  Rufus was already there and speaking with the media, explaining that there was no need for alarm and that the WRO was only doing a sweep of the old sectors to check for pollutants and clean it up should they find any. 

 

“I don’t think you should go in with us,” Vincent said to Reeve as their team prepared to enter the Deepground compound.

 

Reeve looked at him with a knowing smirk.  “I can handle myself.  True, I don’t have your fighting skills but you’ll need me to help analyze whatever we find in there.  I’ve also got certain diplomatic skills that could prove useful if we capture any prisoners and I have the schematics of this place memorized.”

 

Vincent’s ruby gaze was uncertain and worried.  “Then you should wait safely out here for us to bring them to you.  There’s no need for you to get in the middle of a firefight.”

 

“Are we really going to argue about this now?” Reeve sighed, pointedly looking over Vincent’s shoulder at the other members of their team, who were heading in.

 

“Of course,” Vincent shrugged, flashing a brief, quiet smile at the engineer.  “You wouldn’t budge last night so I’m trying again before it begins.  Did you really expect me to do otherwise?”

 

Reeve chuckled and covertly squeezed the gunman’s human hand.  “My answer hasn’t changed, Vincent.  You’re stuck with me.  I promise I’ll stay behind the line of fire but having me there will work to everyone’s advantage.”

 

Vincent gave up with a shrug.  “So be it.  You realize of course that most of my energy is going to be expended on keeping you safe, correct?”

 

“When all else fails, try guilt,” Reeve laughed.  “It won’t change my mind, though.”

 

Reno jogged up, with Tseng, Cloud, Tifa and the rest of their team following close behind.  “What the hell are ya waiting for, guys?  We’re moving in!”

 

Cloud stopped beside the two arguing lovers, guessing what the problem was.  “We’re going to be watching each others’ backs while we do this,” he assured Vincent.  “The fighters are going to be protecting the science teams, so don’t worry.”

 

Tifa looked up at the sky visible through the broken plates above, wondering if they could expect rain soon.  There were heavy clouds moving in and she almost hoped it would storm like crazy.  Bad weather would keep people indoors and deter them from trying to sneak into the old city to see what was happening.  Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a figure on top of one of the abandoned buildings in the distance.  She peered at the figure, tilting her head with puzzlement.  It looked like a man in a trench coat, but the morning sunlight broke through the cloud cover at that moment and backlit the figure, obscuring details.  She gasped as something that looked suspiciously like a wing spread out from the figure’s back.

 

“What’s wrong, Tifa?” Tseng asked when he noticed her exclamation.

 

She looked at him and opened her mouth, struggling to find words for what she thought she’d seen.  She was sure he’d think she was crazy if she told him she saw a one-winged man standing on top of the building, so she simply pointed instead.  Tseng followed the gesture with his eyes and frowned.

 

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” the Wutaian asked calmly.

 

“Th-the man,” Tifa said uncertainly, looking at the spot again.  The figure was gone.  There was no sign that anyone had been standing there, let alone a man with one wing.  The cloud cover again choked the sunlight back and a chill wind swept through the ruins of Midgar, making her shiver.

 

“Perhaps you haven’t had enough rest,” Tseng offered politely.  “Lack of sleep can play tricks on the eyes.”

 

At once, she felt like a frightened child that needed her parents to confirm there weren’t any monsters hiding under her bed or in her closet.  She sighed with defeat, her eyes scanning the rooftops anxiously as Tseng led her toward the compound entrance with the others.  She’d witnessed Sephiroth manifesting a single wing like that, both during the final battle to stop Meteor and the fight between he and Cloud.  The profile she’d briefly seen didn’t match Sephiroth’s though.  She hadn’t recognized it as anyone she knew.

 

“Maybe you’re right,” Tifa agreed, choosing not to press the issue and risk getting kicked off the strike team.  “I’m sure I’ll feel better when this is over with.”

 

Tseng nodded and stopped beside Reno and Cloud to look at Reeve.  “Are we ready to proceed?” the Turk director asked.

 

“Yes, we are,” Reeve answered, though Vincent looked reluctant.  They fell in with the others and moved in toward the entrance, readying weapons, scopes and flashlights.  Cloud led the way with Tifa, Reno and Elena close behind.  Rude stayed near Tseng and Vincent, ready to defend Reeve if any attacks were made against him. 

 

“Why didn’t he just have Cait Sith or that Monkeyshines gadget of his come in his place?” Elena whispered to Reno as they followed their teammates into the Deepground entrance.

 

“I think he just wanted to see everything with his own eyes,” Reno guessed.  “He probably should have brought one of ‘em for extra protection, though.”

 

“Silence in the ranks,” Tseng ordered, shooting a reprimanding look over his shoulder at the two whispering Turks.  Elena and Reno subsided into silence, wincing at the impatient tone of his voice.

 

The converging teams were swallowed up in the blackness of the ruins as they made their way in and those who waited outside in charge of communications looked at one another nervously. 

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

“Yo Reeve, you’re the man now.  Where the hell do we go?” Reno asked.  He shone his flashlight on the engineer and motioned for the other teams to stop.  It was eerily quiet inside of the Deepground compound and their voices echoed off the walls. 

 

“There should be an elevator up ahead and stairs to the right of that,” Reeve answered.  “The team that came in here before said that they made it to the fifth level underground before they encountered anyone.”

 

“Right,” the redhead said with a nod.  Tseng motioned for everyone to continue on and Reno got out his EMR and readied it, just in case.  He glanced over at Cloud and he noticed that the blonde’s eyes kept roving over him.  Reno smirked with amusement.  Because of the nature of this assignment, the Turks were wearing form-fitting combat gear rather than their usual tailored uniforms.  Poor Cloud seemed distracted by the sight of Reno in it and while he was obviously doing his best to keep his mind on business, that bright gaze of his just kept slipping.

 

“You okay there, Blondie?” Reno whispered as he fell into step beside him.

 

“Fine,” Cloud said shortly, trying to keep his eyes off of Reno’s appealingly outlined ass.  He searched their surroundings, memorizing details as they moved further in so that he could find his way back easily when they were finished.  “Is it just me, or does this place feel…empty?” he asked.

 

“It’s not just you,” Rude confirmed softly from just behind them.

 

“It’s like a sewer,” Vincent agreed.  “I don’t sense any human life nearby…only decay.”

 

“What if the Deepground members are so altered they just aren’t human anymore at all?” Elena whispered, hugging herself as a chill went through her.

 

“I guess we’ll find out if we run into any of them,” Cloud said.

 

“If we run into any of them,” Tifa whispered with a frown.  “I’m starting to wonder if they moved after the first team found them.”

 

“We’ve got plenty of levels to go through before we can draw any conclusions,” Reeve reminded them.

 

They found the stairs and went down them slowly, the foremost teams scouting ahead before waving at the others to follow.  They searched each floor as they gradually made their way down, finding only broken machinery, glass and moldy sleeping cots.  There was no sign that anyone still lived there.  When they made it to the level that the original investigation team had found the research notes on, they found it empty. 

 

“It wasn’t like this when we came here,” the WRO scientist that had been on the investigative team informed them.  “There were computer equipment and storage lockers.  It looks like it’s all been cleared out.”

 

Tseng sighed and used his cellphone to relay the information to the communications team.  “We’re going in further,” he informed them.  “We’ll report if we find anything significant.”

 

“Yo, I think Tifa may be right,” Reno muttered out the corner of his mouth to Cloud as they continued on down the stairs.  “I was looking forward to a little ass-kicking, too.  I missed out the last time.”

 

“Believe me, there wasn’t anything fun about it,” Cloud said.

 

They went down several more floors, searching each one for any clues or hidden passageways.  By the time they reached the bottom, everyone was tired, frustrated and a little disappointed.  The disappointment didn’t last for very long, however.  They spotted a blue glow coming from a room in the back of the bottom floor and the first team moved to check it out.

 

“Uh, I think you need to get in here, Sirs,” one of the Turks said as he poked his head back around the door.  His eyes were wide and he looked from Tseng to Reeve anxiously.  “They left something behind after all…or should I say, someone.”

 

Reeve and Tseng exchanged looks and they hurried forward with the others close at their heels.  Inside the room was a huge capsule filled with liquid.  It was lit up from inside and a familiar woman floated within it.  When he saw the shocked recognition on Reeve’s face, Tseng lifted an eyebrow.

 

“You know her?” the Wutaian guessed.  The woman in the capsule had long, light brown hair that floated around her eerily.  She appeared to have a prosthetic arm and her body bore many scars.

 

Vincent came up beside Reeve and he wore the same expression of recognition on his marble features.  “Shalua,” the gunman said softly, his eyes roving over the capsule.  “We were trying to transport her to WRO headquarters during the last Deepground fiasco, but the Shera took a hit and her capsule fell to Midgar.”

 

“We didn’t think there was any chance she could have survived the drop,” Reeve added.  His expression was strained with guilt.

 

“I hate to say it Sir, but you weren’t wrong,” one of the scientists confirmed as he examined the control panel at the bottom of the capsule.  “This woman is dead.  Perfectly preserved, but dead nonetheless.”

 

Reeve peered at the monitors on the control panel and swore heavily.  “Why?  Why did they keep her here?”

 

“I think I have the answer to that here, Sir,” another WRO scientist said as he approached with a folder he’d found.  “The documentation here says that they injected her with the G cells before using live specimens.  It also indicates that they intended to use her for spare parts…along with another specimen.”  He frowned and looked around the chamber.  “I don’t see another capsule…maybe they already used up the other specimen.”

 

Cloud felt nauseated.  “’Spare parts’?” He repeated.  “For what?”

 

“In case any live recipients started decomposing, the way all of the former G project subjects did,” Reeve guessed with a heavy sigh.  “What else do the reports say?”

 

“I could be mistaken, but it looks as though they perfected the transition.  These state that they managed to create one ‘perfect’ specimen,” answered the scientist.  He flipped through the pages until he reached the end of them.  “I think we interrupted them before they could duplicate the process, Mr. Tuesti.  The question is, where is this ‘perfect specimen’ at?”

 

Some of the other organization members were checking along the walls and they found a panel.  Another door slid open and they hastily readied weapons.

 

“My guess?” Reno said with a nod, “It’ll be behind that door, yo.”

 

“There’s another one back here,” one of them confirmed.  “A young man!  He’s in a capsule like hers but he’s got life readings.”

 

Tifa grabbed Cloud by the arm and started forward, but the blonde didn’t budge.  She looked at him with a frown.  “Come on, let’s go have a look.  Cloud?  Are you okay?”  He looked a little green.

 

“I’m not sure I want to,” Cloud muttered, remembering the president’s warning that his name had come up in the files.  “Uh, what does the guy in the capsule look like?” he called out, licking dry lips. 

 

“Dark hair, medium athletic build…I’ve never seen him before,” one of the Turks said with a shrug.

 

Cloud relaxed and nodded, following Tifa with a little less trepidation.  He’d had the unreasonable fear that he’d find a clone of himself floating inside the new capsule.  When they stepped through the doors and looked up at the discovery, he found it was much, much worse than a copy of himself.  Cloud thought his eyes were going to roll right out of his skull and Tifa seemed to lose all strength in her legs.

 

“No,” Tifa gasped, “Oh god…Cloud…do you see?  Is it really…”

 

“What’s wrong with you two?” Reno asked as he followed them in.  The redhead looked up and saw the stasis specimen and he yelped.  “What the flying fuck??  Hey, that’s…that’s Fair!”

 

Tseng barreled in at surprising speed and shoved people aside.  He stared at the encapsulated young man and his face drained of color.  Unlike the woman in the other room, this specimen had an oxygen mask strapped over his face but even with the mask obscuring his mouth and nose, there was no doubt that it was Zackary Fair…or at least an exact clone of him. 

 

The Wutaian’s own shock at the sight of the dead Soldier was replaced with concern for Cloud and Tifa.  Lockheart had fallen to her knees and she was retching loudly.  Cloud was at her side, doing his best to hold her hair back but looking terribly pale and shocked himself. 

 

“It’s not him,” Cloud was murmuring, shaking his head in denial.  “It’s can’t be.”

 

“Shit,” Reno said thickly, averting his eyes.  “I can’t look…did they cut anything off him?  Did the fuckers use him for ‘spare parts’?”

 

Rude’s jaw was tightly clenched as he examined the floating young man.  “Looks like he’s all here, partner.  I don’t see any scars at all on him, in fact.”

 

Reeve came in with Vincent and they both studied the specimen while shooting pitying looks at Cloud and Tifa.  “It must be a copy,” Reeve stated.  “We all know what happened to the real Zack Fair.  I wonder how long Deepground has had this fellow?”

 

“Kill it,” Cloud said roughly, staggering to his feet.  He wouldn’t look at the specimen.  “It’s not him…kill it!”

 

“Hey Cloud…do ya hear what you’re saying?” Reno asked with wide eyes.  “He was your best bud!  You really wanna kill him, even if this guy’s not the real deal?”

 

“I…I can’t…no more!” Cloud dropped his sword and put shaking hands to his head.  Tifa was still heaving and gasping and Elena was at the brunette’s side, trying to calm her down.

 

“Get ‘em outta here,” Reno growled, nodding toward the fighter and the barmaid.  “Hell, I can barely handle this myself…they’re both losing it!”

 

Tseng nodded stiffly in confirmation and several of the Turks helped Tifa to her feet and surrounded Cloud.  The blonde fighter was yelling for them to kill the abomination before it woke up and Reeve caught hold of one of his scientists by the arm and told him to sedate the blonde as soon as he got the chance.  The man nodded and followed behind the Turks, who were having a difficult time dragging Cloud Strife out of the chamber.

 

“I doubt that he means what he’s saying,” Vincent murmured as he listened to his friend’s tortured, hysterical shouts.  “He’s reacting in shock.”

 

“We’re not going to ‘kill it’,” Reeve said firmly.  “Clone or not, this young man could provide answers and I’m not about to murder a helpless human being.”  He pulled out his cellphone and contacted the communications team to arrange for the capsule containing Zack’s likeness to be transported back to Headquarters.  

 

Reno took a few deep breaths and paced, trying to calm his racing heart and get his thoughts straightened out.  After a moment he paused and cocked his head to one side.  “Yo, does anyone hear something beeping?  Is that someone’s phone or something?”

 

Everyone went silent and listened.

 

“I hear it too,” Elena said with puzzlement.  “It sounds like it’s coming from that little door over there.  What is that, a supply closet?”

 

Reno walked over to the door, trying to keep his eyes away from the spectacle of Zack floating in a tube of liquid.  “Ya know,” he said aloud, “it’s kind of funny that they’d take off and leave this stuff for us to find.  Maybe they didn’t have the equipment to move the tubes but wouldn’t they have taken the files with ‘em, at least?”  He pulled open the door and his eyes widened as he saw the answer to his own question.

 

“Ooohhhh, fuuuuck,” the redhead groaned long and loud.  The digital red numbers on the bomb he discovered were steadily counting down, with less than four minutes to go until detonation.  “We’re boned, people.”

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

“Alliance”

Chapter 3

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

“What do you mean, ‘we’re boned’?” Rude asked when he heard his partner’s tense announcement.  He came up behind Reno and tugged his shades down to look.  When he saw the object that Reno was hunkered over, his jaw dropped.  “Oh, hell no.”

 

“Anyone in here know how to defuse a bomb?” Reno hollered.

 

“Don’t you?” Elena asked in a fearful voice.

 

“No, I just set ‘em off!” Reno answered,  “We need someone to disarm this thing or WE’LL be disarmed…pun intended!  Rude?  You put shit like this together, can you figure it out?”

 

Rude shook his head.  “This is way more advanced than the ones I make.”

 

“Move aside,” Reeve ordered as he shoved his way past the gathering crowd around the closet.  “Everyone, get out of here!  I’ll try to stop it.”

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Vincent said firmly, stopping at Reeve’s side and regarding the bomb with calm detachment. 

 

Knowing it was pointless to argue with him, Reeve waved the others away.  “Fine, the rest of you get as far away from this floor as you can.”

 

“We ain’t going to make it all the way out before that thing goes off,” Reno said with certainty.  “We might make it three floors back up but we’re still fucked.”

 

Tseng picked up his cellphone and dialed one of the Turks that had helped escort Cloud and Tifa out.  “It’s Tseng.  Get out of the compound as quickly as you can.”  He ended the call and stood waiting while Reeve worked over the bomb while some of the others shone their flashlights on it for him.  “With any luck, at least Strife and the others can make far enough to escape if it goes off,” the Wutaian announced.

 

“Shiva, I fucking hope so,” Reno muttered, his pale face breaking into a sweat.  “How’s it coming along, Reeve?”

 

“It would go much smoother if you weren’t breathing down my neck,” the engineer snapped as he tugged a small kit out of the confines of his jacket and opened it to reveal multiple, small tools.  He muttered to himself as he pulled out some wire cutters and popped open a panel on the bomb.  He eyed the wires inside and began to carefully separate them according to color.  There were two of each; yellow, blue and red.  Reeve wiped his forehead with his sleeve and concentrated, observing where the wires connected and making his best guess as to which ones went to the fuse.

 

Reno backed off and decided to give Rufus one last call.  They had two minutes left.  He selected the president’s number and waited for him to answer, his pulse racing in his throat.  “Hey boss,” he said when Rufus picked up.  “I just wanted to call ya in case I don’t see you again.”

 

“Reno, what are you talking about?” Rufus’s voice was puzzled.  “Have you run into opposition?”

 

“Not exactly,” answered the Turk, “but we did run into a bomb and Reeve’s got less than two minutes to defuse it.  I figured if I wanted to say goodbye to ya, it’s now or never.  You wanna talk to Tseng and Rude?”

 

“I…what?”  Rufus’s confusion was rapidly being replaced with alarm.  “Is this some sort of sick joke?”

 

“I wish,” Reno sighed.  He nodded at Rude and Tseng, who stood silently behind Reeve and waited to either be blown to bits or saved.  Vincent was holding his flashlight steady but the two other people lending their beams were shaking so badly the light bounced.  The other two Turks approached and Reno started to hand the phone over to Tseng so that the Wutaian could say something first.

 

“Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep!”  The counter on the bomb suddenly sped up and the Turks froze, looking at each other with horror.  On the other end of the phone, Rufus was beginning to shout demands for someone tell him what was happening.

 

“You seem to have angered it,” Vincent observed.

 

“All too aware,” Reeve answered in a tight voice.

 

Everyone braced themselves as the engineer tried once more.  Reno squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for the final painful moment.  Tseng grabbed the redhead’s phone and said goodbye to Rufus and Rude put one arm around his partner.  Elena covered her ears and gritted her teeth.  After a moment, it occurred to them that they were still standing and Rufus was still shouting on the other end of the line.  The beeps had stopped and Reeve collapsed in front of the bomb and bowed his head.

 

“Did you do it?” Elena asked the engineer as she opened one eye.

 

“In true suspense film spirit,” Reeve confirmed breathlessly.  “We had under twenty seconds to spare.  I think I’ve soiled myself.”

 

The smell of urine permeating the air indicated that while Reeve may have been cracking a joke, at least one person in the room had actually lost bladder control. 

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Tseng!”  Rufus was red-faced and shouting into the cellphone.  “Reno!  What’s going on?”  The communications team and barricade guards watched the president come unhinged, uncertain of what to do next.

 

Rufus heard Reno yell at the top of his lungs and then he heard others hollering as well.  The only assumption he could make was that his Turks were being slaughtered while he listened helplessly over the phone.  “You!” he shouted at one of the higher-ranking militia on the communications team, “Send in backup, right now!”

 

“Yo, boss!”  Reno’s voice shouted through the phone just as Rufus grabbed the officer’s combat vest.  “We’re okay!  Reeve stopped the bomb, man!”

 

Rufus froze, his eyes dilating.  He released the officer’s vest and stepped back, schooling his features immediately as he brought the phone back up to his ear.  “Reeve stopped the bomb,” he repeated in a carefully controlled voice.

 

“Yeah, we’re all in one piece and you should see a team coming out with Strife and Lockheart soon.  We’ve got something pretty special here that you’ll want brought back to headquarters, yo.”

 

Rufus felt like his heart was going to burst through his ribcage.  “Do you have any bloody idea what you just did to me, Reno?”

 

The Turk hesitated.  “Uh…probably gave you a pretty good scare, huh?”

 

“And turned me into a foaming lunatic in under a minute,” Rufus added, flushing as his people stared at him warily.

 

“Yeah,” the redhead sounded embarrassed.  “Well, I thought we were toast and Tseng even thought so too.  Sorry, baby.”

 

Rufus reigned in his temper with difficulty.  Few things could anger him as much as losing control in front of other people…let alone subordinates.  The only thing that angered him more than his own display of hysteria was the terror that Reno had inadvertently put him through. 

 

“Get topside immediately and explain to me what you’ve found.”  He saw one of the teams emerging from the entrance to the compound and he spotted Cloud, apparently unconscious and being carried by two WRO members.  A Turk was supporting Tifa and the girl looked as though she was about to pass out herself.

 

“We’ll discuss the grey you’ve put in my hair later, Reno.”  Rufus abruptly hung up the phone and took a moment to collect himself before he moved to meet the approaching team.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

When the rest of the teams emerged and the Turks gave their report, Rufus was again thrown for a loop.  He knew that Cloud was likely to find something unpleasant concerning his own past or things that were done to his friend Zack, but he never expected him to actually find a clone of the man. 

 

_~If I had known this would happen, I never would have sent him in there.  Now I’m going to have to contend with him over what we’re to do with this clone.~_

“He really told you to kill it?” Rufus asked, looking from one Turk to the next as they sat in the privacy of his helicopter’s cabin.  He also looked to Reeve, who was still a bit pale from having barely succeeded in saving so many lives.

 

“He was terribly shocked,” Tseng answered.  “I hardly think he was thinking rationally.”

 

“He saw only an imposter when he looked at the specimen in the capsule,” Vincent confirmed.  “Assuming the incident doesn’t give him a complete breakdown, he may change his attitude when he wakes up.”

 

Rufus sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair.  “And you found no members of Deepground at all?”

 

They shook their heads in unison.  “Reno suggested that it was odd for them to leave behind the research files,” Reeve said, “I agree with that.  Obviously they’ve moved to another location and it’s reasonable to assume they didn’t have the means to transport Zack’s clone and Shalua’s body, but it’s strange that they would leave behind such important notes.”

 

“From what I’ve heard of Deepground, they’re just sick enough to dangle the carrot in front of our noses before blowing us up,” Reno said with a shrug.  “Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the whole thing was set up.”

 

“What would be the purpose, if they deliberately set a trap?” Rufus asked with a frown.  “You can’t gloat over ash, after all.”

 

“Maybe they wanted to gloat at you, boss,” Rude suggested thoughtfully. 

 

Rufus considered the theory.  “It’s no secret that my father and I didn’t get along,” he reasoned, “and if that weren’t enough to earn Deepground’s contempt, I’m fairly certain that they despise the WRO.  Still, given their diminished numbers I’d be more inclined to believe they were trying to destroy evidence and we simply arrived before it happened.  Otherwise they would have had to have an agent in there waiting for our people to move in before arming the bomb and getting out unseen.  It doesn’t seem possible.”

 

Tseng frowned, remembering something that Tifa did just before they went into the compound.  She’d been startled…spooked, even.  She’d claimed to see a man somewhere amongst the rooftops but there was nobody there when Tseng looked.  “Lockheart thought she saw someone watching us, just before we moved in,” the Wutaian said.  “I never spotted him but she seemed very sure of herself for a  moment.  It’s possible that it was a stealth agent left behind to set the bomb.”

 

“So we have one possible sighting of a person that may or may not have been involved in the bomb,” Rufus sighed.  “Nobody else saw him?”

 

Tseng shook his head.  “Only Tifa.  It could have been a figment of her imagination.  She did seem fairly tired when we started out.”

 

“But we can’t rule it out,” Reeve insisted.

 

“No, I don’t suppose we can,” agreed Rufus.  “There’s little we can do about it now except to double security while we collect the capsules.”  He looked at Reeve and Vincent searchingly.  “I understand the woman in the other capsule was an associate of yours?”

 

“A comrade,” Vincent corrected.  “One who deserves to have her remains disposed of with dignity.”

 

Rufus nodded.  “I understand.  Would you object to a standard autopsy first?”

 

“She’s been cut up enough,” the gunman said firmly.

 

“A good portion of her internal organs were artificial before Deepground got their hands on her to begin with,” explained Reeve.  “I doubt there’s much we could discover by studying her…although if we must conduct cellular tests…Vincent, forgive me but I’d rather do it on someone who no longer cares than a living specimen.  She’s gone to the planet.”

 

“Minor tests only,” Vincent agreed with great reluctance.  “We owe her some final dignity, at least.”

 

“Absolutely,” Reeve said with a thankful nod.  “Provided the clone we found ever wakes up and assuming his mental facilities are intact enough to agree to it, we may be able to perform tests on him.  I won’t go the route of Hojo and Hollander, however.  He has to be able to give us his informed consent.”

 

“Is it really that important to get consent from a clone?” Elena asked…perhaps foolishly.

 

Reeve gave her a level stare.  “Clone or not, he’s a human being and how he came into existence isn’t his fault.  We don’t operate like that anymore, remember?”

 

“I was just asking,” Elena said in a small voice.  “I’m just confused by this whole thing.  I mean, does he have a brain or is he just an empty human shell?”

 

Reeve frowned.  “That’s actually a good question.  We won’t have the answer to that until we transport him to our research department and have him looked over more thoroughly.  For the time being, I’m more concerned with Cloud and Tifa’s mental state.  I’d like to check up on them both.”

 

“Certainly,” Rufus agreed.  He hid it well but he was concerned for Strife as well.  Tifa was clearly upset by the incident as well but they’d had to sedate Cloud.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Reeve, you gotta listen to me,” Cloud slurred when the engineer stood over the cot he was strapped to inside one of the helicopters, “that thing isn’t Zack…it’s…just a thing.  Get rid of it!”

 

Reeve sighed and brushed aside some stray golden locks of hair from the fighter’s eyes.  “You know I can’t do that, Cloud.  I understand how hard this is on you but what you’re asking me to do is murder.  I seem to recall that you’re somewhat of a clone, yourself.  Should I have you killed, too?”

 

“Not the same thing,” the blonde mumbled, fighting against the affects of the drugs they’d given him.  “I was…you know…injected…screwed around with…but I was still me.”

 

“So because you existed before your DNA makeup was altered, you’re better than he is?” Reeve persisted.  “The clone of your friend doesn’t deserve the chance to live?”

 

“Deepground’s been using him,” Cloud said with slightly more clarity, “you dunno what they did…he could be a psycho!”

 

“Or he could be an oblivious innocent, completely unaware of his circumstances or how he came to exist,” reasoned the engineer.  “Look, you’ve had quite a shock and I can’t pretend to know what it was like for you to look up and see him floating there.  Give yourself some time…rest and recover.  When you can think with a clear head again, we’ll talk more.”  Reeve nodded at the nearby doctor, signaling for a second dose of sedative.

 

“No, dammit,” Cloud grunted, struggling in his bonds.  One of the straps began to tear and Reeve hastily held his friend down while the doctor administered another injection.

 

“I’m sorry, Cloud,” the older man said.  “We’re only trying to help you.”

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

Tifa watched the covered capsule being air-lifted from the ground.  It had taken some tinkering with the elevators to get them working again but the WRO managed to do it and they got the capsule and its occupant up to ground level and outside.  She was trembling but in much better mental condition than Cloud.

 

“How are ya holding up?” Reno asked her as he handed her a steaming cup of hot chocolate. 

 

She forced a smile as she took it from him.  “I’m…numb.  I just can’t believe it.  How did they copy him like that?”

 

“The WRO will figure that out later,” guessed the Turk.  He studied her with piercing, blue-green eyes for a moment.  “You ain’t glad you might get your old friend back?”

 

“It won’t be him,” she said with a shake of her head.  “People don’t just come back from the dead like that.”

 

“Oh yeah?”  Reno took a drag of the clove cigarette he held between the fingers of his other hand.  He blew the smoke out and scuffed the broken cement with one shoe.  “Seems to me Sephiroth came back plenty of times.  How many times did ya think he was dead only to find out he was alive and kicking, toots?  Hojo came back too.  Who says only the crazy scientists and their tortured kids can come back?  Why can’t the good ones like Zack do it too?”

 

Tifa stared at him and blinked as she sipped her drink.  Reno’s logic actually made a certain kind of sense…, which either meant she was closer to a breakdown than she thought or Reno was wiser than she’d ever imagined. 

 

“It would make some sense on a cosmic scale,” she murmured.  “I mean, if you believe in Karma.  If someone like Hojo could get a break it’s only fair that someone like Zack could too.”  She didn’t mention Sephiroth because she wasn’t able to reconcile the tragedies that had driven him to madness with the horrors he’d committed because of it.  Pity blended with hatred when it came to Sephiroth, but Hojo was beyond all compassion.

 

“You never know what hand you’re gonna get dealt,” Reno said with a nod.  “I’m not saying it’s a definite but it’s not impossible, either.”  He took another drag of his cigarette before putting it out on the ground and dropping the butt in a little tin he carried with him.

 

Tifa thought the gesture was a bit strange and she eyed the tin curiously.  “It’s kind of weird to see you worrying about littering.  Especially here in this dump.”

 

Reno shrugged.  “I grew up in this ‘dump’.  Now what do ya say we check up on our boy?”

 

Tifa nodded in agreement and followed him to the chopper where Cloud was resting.  The blonde was sleeping fitfully in a drugged haze when they arrived, oblivious to their presence.  Reno muttered a soft curse and knelt down beside him.  “I hope they didn’t overdose him on that shit.”

 

“Reeve would never let that happen,” Tifa said with confidence, though she checked his breathing just to be sure. 

 

“Well, we should be about ready to head back soon,” Reno said.  “Maybe after a couple days’ rest he’ll have his head back on straight.  I’ve never seen him like that before, yo.”  He reached out and stroked his lover’s cheek, unable to hide the concern in his eyes as he gazed down at him.

 

“I have,” Tifa said softly.  “He’ll pull out of it.  He just needs some time.”

 

“If you say so,” Reno sighed.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

When Cloud woke up again he was in the medical unit of ShinRa headquarters.  He was in a room, strapped to a hospital bed and he had an IV in his arm.

 

“Oh, come on,” the blonde growled as he strained against his restraints.  “I had a breakdown, I’m not crazy!”

 

“Welcome back,” a deep, male voice said to his left.  Cloud turned his head to find Vincent sitting in the chair beside his bed.  The gunman regarded him calmly, studying him with thoughtful ruby eyes.  “How much do you remember?”

 

“We found a copy of Zack in the Deepground basement and I went mental,” Cloud snapped, “now let me out of this getup.”

 

“Have you calmed down enough to think rationally now?” Vincent questioned.

 

“I know they’re not going to kill it,” Cloud huffed, “and I’m not sure I’d really want them to anyhow.  Just tell me one thing, Vincent…are they going to experiment on it?”

 

“Interesting,” the gunman murmured.  “You refer to him as ‘it’, as if to acknowledge him as something more than a thing would make him real to you.”

 

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the raven-haired man.  “You didn’t answer my question.”

 

“If he wakes up and can give informed consent, they’ll run some tests,” supplied Vincent calmly.  “Until then, they’re only monitoring his life signs and testing for responses.  He’s still in the stasis capsule, unconscious.  Now, I’ve answered your question—will you answer mine?”

 

“You didn’t ask a question,” Cloud argued, “you psycho analyzed me and drew your own conclusions.”

 

“Before that, I asked you a question,” insisted Vincent.  He hadn’t moved and he watched Cloud patiently, with all the expression of a marble statue.

 

Cloud frowned.  “If I told you I could think rationally, would you even believe me?”

 

A soft smile graced Vincent’s lips.  “More readily than others, it would seem.”  He stood up and began freeing Cloud from the restraints.  “I’m sure Reeve will have something to say about my releasing you before a proper doctor could diagnose you, but I think I know you better than they do.”

 

Cloud sat up with effort, his head still swimming from the lingering effects of the sedatives.  “Thanks, Vincent.  I think I’m going to go lay down in my room.”  He tugged the IV out and winced a little at the sting before standing up.

 

The other man steadied him as he staggered.  “Let me at least escort you there,” Vincent offered.  “By the way, it really wasn’t wise to pull your own IV out.  I could have rung for a nurse.” 

 

“I’m fine,” the blonde said.  “I’ve been through worse than pulling a tube out of my arm.”  It was then that Cloud realized he was wearing a hospital gown and he stood a very good risk of flashing anyone he crossed paths with.  “Uh, where are my clothes?”

 

“Tifa had them washed.  They’re right there on the other chair with your weapon,” Vincent informed him.  “They were going to confiscate your sword until it could be determined that you were stable, but Reno wouldn’t let them and he convinced the president to order it to be left with you.”

 

Cloud smirked.  He could imagine the redhead guarding his sword for him.  “I should put my clothes on,” he mumbled.

 

“Do you require assistance?” Vincent asked. 

 

Cloud wasn’t comfortable with the offer, though he knew Vincent didn’t think of him in a sexual way.  “I think I can manage.  Just make sure nobody comes walking into the room while I’m doing it, okay?”

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud rested for the remainder of the day and through most of the next.  His phone rang a few times and more than once, someone knocked on his door but he didn’t respond.  Finally when noon came around the following day, someone opened the door to his suite and came in.  Cloud sat up and reached for his weapon as the intruder walked into his bedroom, but he relaxed when he saw that it was Reno.

 

“How did you get in here?” Cloud asked as the redhead closed the distance.

 

Reno dangled a keyring.  “They let me borrow a spare key to check on ya.”

 

“So much for privacy,” grumbled Cloud. 

 

“You’re depressed, man,” Reno said bluntly as he plopped down on the bed next to him.  “We’ve left you alone ‘cause Vinnie insisted on it, but enough’s enough.  You can’t just stay holed up in here and the kids have started worrying about ya.”

 

“I just want to be left alone,” Cloud whispered, averting his eyes.

 

“Why, so you can sleep some more?” Reno scooted closer and threw an arm around him.  “At least come and have something to eat downstairs.  Tifa and the kids are down there and so’s Rude and Tseng.  We’re waiting on ya, Blondie.  There’s a nice lunch buffet.”

 

Cloud almost said he didn’t feel like eating, but he didn’t want to come off as sulky and childish so he simply nodded amicably.  Reno smiled at him and stood up, moving to this closet.  Cloud watched him silently as he picked out an outfit composed of cargo pants and a sweater and the blonde managed a smile.  “You’ve really got a thing for that combination on me.”

 

Reno threw a sexy smile at him and tossed the outfit on the bed.  “You’ve got great arms and a hot ass, baby.  This combo really shows it off.”

 

Cloud got dressed and obligingly went with the Turk to lunch.  He tried to keep his angst from showing as they joined the others at the table they’d selected but the look in Tifa’s eyes said he wasn’t quite succeeding.  Rude was quiet as usual and Tseng was polite, avoiding discussion that could lead to the subject of Zack’s clone.  Denzel and Marlene were just happy to see Cloud up and about and Reno managed to bring a few smiles to the table during the meal. 

 

“The president has something for you,” Tseng informed Cloud after they finished eating. 

 

“Really?” Cloud asked with a puzzled frown, wondering what on Gaia Rufus could have to give him at a time like this.

 

“Yes, it’s something that I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy.  Why don’t you stop by his office tonight before you go to bed?”

 

Cloud stared at the Wutaian while Reno snickered softly.  “Uh, I don’t think this is a good time.”  He blushed as Denzel and Marlene looked at him quizzically and Tifa cleared her throat.  He wondered how much she had picked up on the relationship between him and the president.

 

Tseng gave Reno a patiently annoyed look.  “It’s nothing inappropriate, I assure you.  Just trust me.”

 

Cloud blew a sigh.  “Okay, I’ll drop by his office tonight, then.”

 

~***************************~

* * *

 

“Ah, Cloud,” Rufus said as the blonde was buzzed into his office later that evening.  “I’m glad you decided to come by.  Just one moment, please.”  The president stopped typing on his laptop and stood up, going to the liquor cabinet and mini fridge near the adjoining bedroom.  He produced a chilled, plastic container and brought it to the blonde.  “I believe you enjoyed these the last time I made them.  I cooked a batch for you last night.”

 

Cloud took the offered container and lifted the lid curiously.  A delicious, familiar scent reached his nostrils and his mouth watered.  “Guilty cooking?” he asked with a hard look at the other man, even as he appreciated the smell of the ribs.

 

Rufus shrugged.  “Somewhat.”

 

Cloud studied him closely.  Rufus seemed quite sincere, which was difficult to swallow even now.  “You didn’t know,” he sighed.  “I appreciate it, though.”

 

“I know it’s a hollow gesture,” Rufus said with a grimace.  “I’m a perfect bastard when it comes to giving comfort and I realize that.”

 

Cloud stared at him again.  It seemed like every day he saw a little more of the man beneath the ice.  Was this how it was for Reno, too?  He’d begun to see something more in Rufus than the pragmatic, cool businessman ever since Reno’s accident, and now it seemed the ice was steadily chipping away.  The man sucked at expressing emotions, true…but he was really trying. 

 

“You’ll make me fat if you keep cooking comfort food for me every time I get upset,” Cloud said with a little smile.  “I’m a brooder.  That’s a lot of meals.”

 

Rufus responded with a low, soft laugh.  “If you’d rather not take the ribs,” he began as he reached out for the gift.

 

Cloud pulled them out of his reach.  “No, I’ll take them.  Where did you cook these, anyhow?”  he looked around the office in confusion, knowing that it had a suite of its own connected to it but unable to remember ever seeing a kitchenette or grill anywhere.

 

“There’s a grill on the balcony,” Rufus explained.

 

“Oh,” Cloud said.  He should have guessed.  “Thanks, Rufus.”

 

The president nodded, his gray eyes holding Cloud’s soberly for a moment.  “He’ll be well taken care of, you know.  I understand if you can’t trust me in that, but trust Reeve.”

 

Cloud swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded.  How could he make people understand that the man in the tube wasn’t Zack and never would be?  They thought his feelings were based purely on the resemblance to his deceased friend but it was the sullying of his memory that hurt the most.  Zack had earned his rest and someone had created his likeness to conduct more experiments on! 

 

He couldn’t find the words to explain, so he allowed Rufus to think he’d said the right thing.  The president’s heart was in the right place after all.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

“Mr. Tuesti, we’ve got a problem.”

 

Reeve looked up from the reports he was going over and frowned at the scientist.  “What is it now?”  His patience was nearing an end and he was tired.  He was running on three measly hours of sleep and Vincent avoided the lab so he didn’t even have the comfort of his lover’s presence to make the long hours more bearable. 

 

“The specimen we procured from the Deepground facility,” the woman explained with a worried look, “his life signs are growing weaker.  They’ve been slowly declining since we moved him and his condition is deteriorating faster.”

 

Reeve took off his reading glasses.  “Is he showing visible changes?  Graying hair, flaking skin…anything like that?”

 

“No sir,” the woman answered, “we can’t find any physical reason for the decline.  All tests have shown his organs to be healthy and oddly enough, we’ve started picking up brain waves in the past few hours.  I would almost attribute the worsened condition of his other vital signs to his brain function.  It seems the stronger his mind gets, the weaker the rest of his body becomes.”

 

Reeve puzzled over the strange issue.  “What would you suggest we do if it gets too bad?”

 

“Well, we could take him out of the stasis tube, induce a deep coma and put him on regular life support until we can pinpoint why his brain functions are hurting his other vitals.  Doing so could kill him though.”

 

Reeve shook his head.  “Just keep working on it for now,” he said tiredly.  “Would it be possible to induce coma while he’s in the stasis tube?  Wouldn’t that stop his life signs from getting worse?”

 

“Maybe,” the scientist pondered.  “I’ll report back to you in an hour if his condition changes, Sir.”

 

“Good,” Reeve said.  The woman left his office and he groaned and plopped his head on the reports he’d been going over.  “Why do I always get the hard cases?”

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud surprised himself by eating the entire meal of ribs Rufus had cooked for him.  There had been at least three servings in the container and he gobbled them all down.  He normally wasn’t the sort of person to gorge when he was depressed but there really was something comforting about eating the delicious food.  He made a mental note to thank the president again in the morning when he returned the container and he started on the six-pack of beer he’d purchased at the liquor store across the street.

 

Reno called when he was halfway through the six-pack, asking if he wanted some company for the night.  As tempting as it was, Cloud didn’t feel right about indulging in carnal pleasures when a clone of his best friend sat several floors beneath him. 

 

“Can I take a rain check?” Cloud asked as gently as he could, knowing how determined Reno could be and unwilling to hurt his feelings.  “I just don’t feel right about it now.  I don’t know how else to explain it.”

 

“I think I get it,” Reno sighed.  “Your dead boyfriend’s downstairs and the thought of having sex with me makes you feel like you’re cheating on him, am I right?”

 

Cloud’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.  “Wha—?  You think Zack and I…no, it’s not like that, Reno.  He and I never…that is, we were just…Zack was girl crazy!”

 

“Really?”  Reno sounded surprised.  “You never once tapped that?  He never came onto you either?  I know he liked the ladies but I always figured as chummy as you two were that he had to be bi.”

 

Cloud flushed at the thought, remembering the last dream sequence he’d had when Zack did his odd little fading trick.  The black-haired fighter had teasingly leered at both he and Aerith, acting like he was checking out their butts.  Okay, so Zack was a natural flirt, but as far as Cloud knew he wasn’t into guys…or at least if he was, he’d never been into him that way.  It was kind of depressing, now that he thought of it.

 

“No, we were just good friends,” Cloud said with certainty.  “If he liked guys at all I wasn’t on his radar.”

 

“Bullshit,” Reno scoffed.  “If he liked guys at all you’d be the first one on his radar, Blondie.  Maybe he really was straight or maybe he was just in the closet.  Anyway, I’m glad I’m wrong about why you’re not in the mood for some company.  We don’t have to have sex, though.  If you just want someone to talk to, I’m here, yo.”

 

Cloud managed a little smile.  “Thanks, Reno.  I think tonight I just want to get some rest, though.”

 

“Okay, I won’t push it,” Reno said lightly.  “I’ll see ya tomorrow sometime, Blondie.”

 

“Goodnight,” Cloud said.  He hung up the phone and finished his beer.  He thought about getting another one but the big meal he’d eaten was making him too sleepy to indulge further, so he threw away his empty beer bottle and turned off the lights before lying down.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“You’re mopey again.”

 

Cloud was relieved to hear the familiar, sweet voice and he opened his eyes and looked at Aerith gratefully.  “Thank Gaia you guys came,” he began.  “You’re not going to believe the day I’ve had!”

 

She smiled at him.  “I think I would.”

 

Cloud looked around with a frown, turning slowly in place.  Usually Zack snuck up on him by now.  “Aerith, where’s Zack?”

 

“He’s where you left him,” she answered patiently.

 

Cloud’s frown deepened.  “What are you talking about?”

 

She sighed and stepped closer, her green eyes intense on his.  “The body was there and it was his…even if it wasn’t the original model.  All it needed was a soul, Cloud.”

 

The blonde stared at her with denial etched into his fair features.  “Aerith, what are you saying?  What did you do?”

 

She bit her lip.  “I gave him a little nudge, to help him go back.  You’re going to need him and he wanted to live again, so I did what I could as soon as the shell was strong enough.” 

 

“Are you telling me that’s really Zack in that tube?” Cloud asked in a faint whisper.

 

“Yes, but the transition weakened him,” she explained with growing anxiety.  “The life support that sustained the body before is smothering him now.  Cloud, you have to hurry or he’s going to have a very short trip.”

 

Behind her, an image of Zack flickered briefly into existence.  His amethyst eyes met Cloud’s and he looked very confused before he vanished again.  Aerith looked over her shoulder and spotted him just as he faded back out.

 

“Hurry, Cloud,” prompted Aerith as she whirled to face the blonde again, “he needs to take his first breath…like a newborn!  His soul and body aren’t working together with that artificial stuff sustaining him and he needs to breathe Gaia’s air!”

 

“Oh, Shiva,” Cloud gasped.  “Send me back!”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud sat bolt upright, gasping for air like a landed fish.  He was back in his body again, in bed.  His mind was a jumble of confusion but one thought dominated the tangle of others: he had to break Zack out of that tank.

 

He struggled to get out of bed and he ended up falling onto the floor as his legs got tangled up in the sheets.  Swearing violently, he yanked the restricting cloth away and grabbed his pants.  He pulled them up as he stood, hopping up and down to get them pulled over his hips faster.  If he’d paid any attention he would have realized he was having trouble because he was putting them on backwards, but when he couldn’t find the zipper he just gave up and grabbed his sword and the ID clearance tag he’d been given. 

 

Barefoot and shirtless, with his cargo pants on backwards and his boxers showing out the open zipper in the back, the blonde charged out the door and down the hall.  He didn’t wait for the elevator; instead he took the fire escape and he leaped from landing to landing instead of running down the stairs.  He was lucky he didn’t impale himself on his own weapon as he made his reckless descent to the research floor of the building.

 

When he made it through the door into the research department, a security guard started to approach but he flashed his ID at him and the man allowed him to pass, wearing a confused and uncertain expression on his face.  Cloud skidded to a halt and turned this way and that, trying to figure out where to go to reach Zack.

 

“Where did they take the guy in the tube?” Cloud asked the security guard.

 

“Uh, through the doors to the left,” the man answered, “down the hall, take the first right and go to the room at the end.  What’s going on?”

 

“No time to explain!”  Cloud took off again, looking quite crazed.

 

“Shit,” the security guard muttered as he lifted his radio unit.  “We’ve got a possible situation in the research wing…,”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Reeve had just dozed off when he heard the alarmed shouts coming from the observation room.  He got up and ran out of his office and into the area.  When he saw his wild-eyed blonde friend rushing at the specimen capsule with his thick sword raised, he shouted desperately at him to stop.

 

“Cloud, what are you doing?  You’re out of your mind!” 

 

Security guards ran in from the opposite door and tried to reach Cloud as he drew his weapon back, but he swung with all the force of his Mako-strengthened body before they could get to him.  There was a great crash as the glass shattered from the force of his blow and the occupant inside fell out, naked and limp as gallons of liquid spilled onto the floor.  Cloud caught the clone in his arms as he fell and he cushioned the fall with his own body.

 

Reeve, his science team and the security guards stood stunned, staring down at the young man as he rolled the clone onto his back and tore the oxygen mask off of his face.

 

“Come on, Zack…breathe!” Cloud shouted desperately, shaking the limp, soaked body he held in his arms.  He pinched the clone’s nostrils shut with his fingers and put his mouth against his, trying to resuscitate him. 

 

“Get some oxygen over here,” Reeve barked, utterly bewildered by Cloud’s actions.  He was just about to grab the blonde and try to shake some sense into him when the dark-haired man in Cloud’s arms coughed fitfully and grabbed onto his arm reflexively.

 

Cloud pulled back and let go of Zack’s nose, supporting his head and neck while he sucked air raggedly.  “That’s it,” he encouraged, shifting the heavier man as best he could to keep him from lying on the broken bits of glass scattered here and there.  Thankfully the liquid had washed most of it away from the two of them but there were still enough shards nearby to cut his unprotected skin.

 

Now that Zack was breathing on his own, Cloud realized he really could have gone about doing this a better way.  Then again, if he’d rushed down here and shouted that Aerith had told him to let Zack out of the tube, Reeve probably would have thought he was still out of his head.

 

“He needed to breathe on his own,” Cloud said plainly as the WRO director crossed the room and knelt before him.  “I didn’t have time to try to explain and convince you to drain the capsule and let him out.  He was dying.”

 

Reeve stared into his eyes dubiously for a moment, then looked down at Zack’s gasping form.  He did seem to be doing better, little by little.  “Someone check his vitals and get him cleaned up and into a bed,” the engineer ordered.  “Cloud, I don’t know what provoked you or how you got your information, but after the things I’ve seen since meeting you I’m inclined to believe you’re right.”

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Less than twenty minutes later they had Zack dry, clothed in a hospital gown and in a medical bed.  The research team buzzed around him, checking his vitals and hooking him up to an IV to keep him hydrated.  Cloud watched it all anxiously and Reeve stood beside him.  The older man was staring blatantly at him and the fighter caught the unrelenting stare and shrugged.

 

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said simply.

 

“You might be surprised,” Reeve informed him.  “I’m just curious to know if you’re aware that your pants are on backwards and you’ve given quite a few of my female staff a nice thrill—probably some of the males, too.”

 

 Cloud looked down at himself and discovered that he was indeed wearing the ass of his pants on the front.  He noticed the breeze on his backside for the first time and he realized that the open zipper of the misplaced crotch left his backside covered only by his boxers—which were soaked from sitting on the wet floor with Zack.

 

“Ah…dammit,” Cloud muttered as he reached behind and attempted to tug the zipper up in the back.

 

Reeve shook his head and bit back a chuckle.  “Will you tell me what provoked this flash of insight and reckless behavior?”

 

“I spoke with Aerith,” Cloud grunted as he hopped a little and struggled with the fly.  It was no good…the material was too wet and the crotch of the pants weren’t tailored to fit over someone’s ass.  “She told me she helped send Zack’s soul back but he was smothering in that tank.  She said he needed to breathe on his own or he’d die.”

 

Reeve considered the story and stroked his bearded chin.  “Like I said, given the things I’ve seen and done since meeting you, it’s not that hard to believe,” he murmured.  “Oh, here…put my jacket on before you trip yourself or rip something and give one of my staff members a nosebleed.”

 

Cloud took the offered garment gratefully, blushing to the roots of his hair when one of the women on Reeve’s team approached and eyed him with appreciation.  “He’s stable now, Sir,” she said to Reeve.  “Though we’re lucky he didn’t get a nasty cut.”

 

Cloud cringed a little and tugged the jacket closed.  Reeve chuckled at his expense.  “Well Cloud, like you said before; you overdo it sometimes.  It sounds like you can relax now, though.”

 

Cloud looked at Zack’s pale, sleeping form and he knew that wasn’t true.  He wouldn’t relax until his friend opened his eyes and looked at him.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

“Alliance”

Chapter 4

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

 

“You’re SURE it’s really him?” Tifa asked for the third time that morning.  Cloud had woken her up with a phone call almost as soon as the sun rose and she met him on the research floor.  The two of them now stood over Zack’s sleeping form and she stared at the dark-haired man with wide eyes.

 

“I told you,” Cloud insisted softly.  “I’m positive.  If you don’t believe me now, just wait until he wakes up and gets his bearings.”

 

“How can you be sure he’ll wake up at all?” She asked reluctantly.  She missed Zack as much as Cloud but she was trying to be practical.  It just seemed so surreal that the spirit of Zack could have made it into this body, even with Aerith’s help.

 

“He’s not in a coma,” Cloud said.  “The doctors have told me he’s just sleeping heavily.  He’s exhausted.  It took a lot of energy for him to get back into his body so he just needs rest.”

 

She reached out and stroked some wild raven strands of hair away from Zack’s forehead.  “So, how will this affect your relationship with Reno?”

 

Cloud groaned.  “Why is everyone worried about that all the sudden?  Zack was my best friend and you know first-hand that he was into girls.  He and I were never together like that.”

 

“We had a little fling,” Tifa admitted, “but you know, he never even kissed me?  I even started to wonder if he just liked to be around girls and flirted a lot.  I saw some of your memories once, Cloud…when we fell into the Lifestream and had to piece them back together, remember?  His devotion to you was a lot deeper than friendship and stronger than flirtation.”

 

Cloud stared down at Zack’s passive, handsome face and he began to wonder if there was something to Reno’s concerns and Tifa’s observations.  “Say you’re right,” he murmured.  “Why wouldn’t he have made a move on me at some point?  He flirted with me too now and then but that’s as far as it ever went.  I just figured he liked to kid around.”

 

“I don’t know,” she shrugged.  “Maybe he respected you too much or maybe he was afraid you’d reject him.  If he wakes up you can ask him yourself.”

 

“He WILL wake up,” Cloud said.  “He has to.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

All that Denzel and Marlene knew was that Cloud’s friend was in recovery and they were waiting for him to wake up.  They didn’t have time to see the man themselves because it was their first day at the new school.  Rude took them and neither of the kids could say they were unhappy with the arrangement.  All of the usual trials and tribulations that came with being the new kids in class were going to be fewer and further between, because when he pulled up at the drop-off zone in his sleek black car and got out to open the doors for them, all of the kids, parents and faculty members stared openly.

 

It made Denzel feel like a celebrity or some other kind of VIP.  He and Marlene went into the building with Rude and to the administrative office, where he spoke with the principle and signed them in.  Once that was accomplished, he told them he’d pick them up at the same drop-off zone he’d temporarily parked at to sign them in and he left them to be guided to their classes by faculty.

 

Denzel flushed when he entered his classroom and took a seat.  As he’d expected of his first day and late entry, everyone was staring at him.  The teacher greeted him and introduced him to the class before beginning the history lesson she’d chosen for the day.  While she was writing on the black board, a boy sitting next to Denzel leaned over toward him.

 

“Hey, I saw you and your sister outside,” the teen whispered to him.  “Is your Dad a Turk?”

 

Denzel smiled a little.  “Yeah, he’s a Turk but he’s not our Dad.”  Denzel decided to fabricate a little.  “That was our uncle Rude.”

 

“’Rude’?” The other boy repeated, sharing a look with the other teens around him.  “That’s kind of a weird name.”

 

“You can ask him about it if you want to know how he got it,” Denzel shrugged.

 

The boy paled.  “Nah…it’s cool.  Rude’s a great name!”

 

The other kids nodded enthusiastically and Denzel was hard-pressed not to laugh.

 

“So when did you move here?” one of the girls asked.

 

“We didn’t actually ‘move’ here,” explained Denzel.  “We’re just staying for a while and our parents signed us up to go to school here until we go back home.”  Normally he’d refer to Tifa and Cloud as his Guardians but he knew that would just raise more questions and he’d already attracted enough attention as it was.

 

“Bummer,” the boy next to him said.  “How long are you staying?”

 

“I don’t know.  Our parents have some…work…to do here before we go back home.  It could take a few weeks or we could be here for months before they’re finished.”  There was a downside to having such interesting and varied adults watching over him; he couldn’t be straight with any potential new friends and tell them the truth.  People would think he was making it up to get attention if he told them he was there because remnants of a secret military organization attacked his Dad while he was trying to deliver a package.  No, some things were just better left unsaid.

 

~*******************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud did his best to stay occupied while he waited for changes in Zack’s condition, but he didn’t really have anyone around to help keep his mind off of it.  Reno was out on a scouting assignment and so were Tseng and Elena.  They were searching for any signs of Deepground, both in and around Midgar—as well as surrounding territories.  Since there was no way to be certain how many Deepground operatives were left or how many new additions they had acquired since the Omega incident, there was no telling how many people they’d had to move when they abandoned their old base. 

 

Rufus and Reeve were going over the data procured from the compound, trying to make sense of it all and decide if it was worth keeping it around for further research.  Tifa was making use of the company gym and nobody was sure where Vincent or Rude were.  Cloud worked out a little, both in the sparring area and on the exercise machines with Tifa.  The two of them made small talk as they exercised, but it was awkward because they both had their mind on Zack.

 

Reno’s call came as a relief to Cloud.  He sat up on the bench press he was using and put the phone to his ear.

 

“Hey Reno.  Have you found anything yet?”

 

“Nah,” answered the redhead, “we’ve got nothing so far.  It’s like the bastards just vanished or something.  I don’t know how many of ‘em there were but there should have been a trail to follow.  How are ya feeling, Blondie?”  The last was said with a touch of concern.  Everyone had heard about Cloud’s wild stunt the night before but Reno hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to him about it before he’d had to go out.

 

“I’m okay I guess,” Cloud answered with a shrug.  “Tifa and I keep checking on Zack but he hasn’t woken up yet.  The doctors say he’s in stable condition and they’re keeping him hydrated.  I guess all we can do is wait.”

 

“See, I told ya there was a chance you’d get your bud back,” Reno sounded smug.  “One of these days, maybe you’ll listen to me.”

 

“Okay, so your hunch was right,” conceded the blonde.  “I’m a little surprised you’re not asking what convinced me it was really him, though.”

 

“Baby, after the things I saw in the Forgotten City I didn’t need to ask.  So, if he doesn’t wake up tonight are you up for some company?”  Reno’s voice was almost uncertain on the last part.

 

“I’d like that,” Cloud assured him.  His pulse quickened predictably at the thought.  He hadn’t gotten the chance to spend hardly any time with his Turk lover and he was starting to miss him.  “I’m sorry I’ve been so out of it.”

 

Reno chuckled.  “Who wouldn’t be out of it after all that?  It’s okay, hot stuff…as long as ya book me in for a little loving we’re good.”

 

A soft smile spread over Cloud’s lips.  Really, he should have been the one worried about being neglected, since of the two of them Reno had far more to occupy his time than Cloud did.  It made him feel pretty good that even with three other partners to choose from, Reno’s desire for him wasn’t compromised. 

 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Cloud said truthfully.

 

“Hey, we could go to my apartment after I get back if you want,” offered the Turk.  “It’ll give you a chance to get out of that building for a night and we could order a pizza or something.”

 

Cloud almost refused, preferring to stay at Headquarters in case Zack regained consciousness.  However, he didn’t want to give the impression that he was obsessed and he certainly didn’t want to hurt Reno’s feelings.  He wasn’t sure why but he was getting the feeling that Reno was more vulnerable to rejection than usual, lately. 

 

“Okay, that sounds like a plan,” Cloud agreed.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

The kids returned later that afternoon from their first day at the new school and Cloud heard their noisy charge as they ran through the hallway to their suite.  He opened his door in time to see Denzel get the door open and pick up his book bag.  Marlene was waiting patiently, holding her own backpack.  Both bags looked rather heavy to Cloud.

 

“Hey, need a hand?” offered the blonde with a smile as he crossed the hallway.

 

“We’ve got it,” Denzel answered as he pushed the door open.  “First day and we’ve already got homework!  It sucks!”

 

“How was it otherwise?”  Cloud hid his amusement as he studied the two of them. 

 

“I made some new friends,” Marlene informed.  “Everyone’s curious about Mister Rude.”

 

“I’ll bet they are,” the fighter said dryly.  He wondered if any of their classmates knew the sort of business Turks commonly got up to.  “How about you, Denzel?  Think you can handle going to school here for a while?”

 

He shrugged, downplaying any excitement he felt with typical, teenaged cool.  “I’ll deal.  Nobody gave me any trouble and the teachers are okay.  The whole school thinks I’ve got a Turk for an Uncle now.”

 

That made Cloud smirk.  “Well, I guess that means you won’t have to worry about bullies.  Do either of you need help with your homework?”

 

Both kids shook their heads. 

 

“Okay then.  If you have any trouble just knock on my door or give Tifa a call.  I’ll be going out for the night when Reno gets back so if I don’t answer the door, that’s why.”

 

Denzel and Marlene shared a knowing look between them and Cloud felt his face go red.  The fighter abruptly turned on his heel and retreated back into his room.  It wasn’t so bad for Denzel to know he and Reno had a romantic relationship…the boy was old enough to understand it now.   He wasn’t sure he liked the thought of Marlene catching on, though.  How would he explain to her that sometimes men like other men and vice-versa with women?  Worse yet, what if she found out that his affections didn’t just extend to Reno?

 

“How do people do it?” Cloud muttered to himself as he closed the door behind him.  One day or another, someone was going to have to give Marlene “The Talk” and he’d be damned if it was going to be him.  She was Barret’s daughter, after all. 

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

When Reno returned from his scouting mission, he went with Cloud to Zack’s recovery room.  Cloud wanted to check on him before they left and Reno was curious to see him too.

 

“So, here he is in all his manly glory,” Reno said with a grin as he looked down at Zack’s sleeping form.  “How does a guy come back from the dead and manage to look so hot?”

 

Cloud stood beside the Turk and he smirked at Reno’s observation.  Tifa had trimmed up Zack’s hair, brushed it and styled it a little.  He looked almost exactly as Cloud remembered him the first time he’d laid eyes on him and he had to agree with Reno—he looked great.  He hadn’t grown any stubble yet and Cloud thought he knew why.

 

“The doctors say that Deepground gave him Mako enhancements and G-cell injections when they had him.”  A frown grew on Cloud’s lips as he worried over what this would mean for his friend.  “So far there’s no sign of deterioration and the notes said that he was their ‘perfect specimen’.  Reeve told me that the files also said they couldn’t get him to respond to anything, so they were just going to…use him.  I guess they were going to use his cells to enhance their own people or something.” 

 

Reno looked at him and patted him on the back.  “You ain’t gonna be sick, are ya?  Hey Cloud, I understand how you feel but it’s over with now.  We got him away from those freaks and you don’t have to worry about anyone carving him up, okay?”

 

Cloud nodded and swallowed.  He just kept imagining what would have happened if they hadn’t gotten there on time. 

 

_~Hell, forget about them carving him up…they set up a bomb in that room and if it wasn’t for Reeve, Zack would be in pieces right now along with the rest of us.~_

“You’re right, there’s no point in me dwelling on it now.”  Cloud smiled at Reno and squeezed his hand in a sweet, boyish manner.  “Let’s get going.”

 

Reno stood dumbfounded for a moment, enamored by the gesture.  He wasn’t a cuddly sort of guy and he never thought Cloud was either, but something about the way the blonde had squeezed his hand made him want to crush him in a hug and never let go.

 

“Damn, you’re cute,” Reno grinned.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“Pizza’s here,” Cloud murmured against Reno’s lips as the doorbell rang.  The caress of the redhead’s mouth was sensual and unhurried and the slow rub of his hand up and down his leg had already made Cloud harden in his pants.  He broke away from Reno and looked down at himself with a rueful grimace.  “Maybe you’d better answer it.”

 

Reno’s eyes dropped to his lover’s crotch and he snickered softly.  “Doesn’t take much, does it Blondie?”  He winked at the blushing fighter and got off the couch, whistling softly as he went to answer the door. 

 

Cloud shifted in his seat and came close to smacking himself in the face when he caught himself staring at Reno’s ass.  The tailored dress pants of the Turk uniform outlined the firm bottom just right and though Reno’s un-tucked shirt covered the top half, the view was tantalizing enough to make Cloud’s condition worse.

 

Reno checked the pizza and the chicken wings he’d ordered to go with it before paying the deliveryman and giving him a generous tip.  Oddly enough, neither he nor Cloud was in the mood for drinking tonight so he’d ordered a bottle of cola to go with the meal.  When Cloud saw how he was struggling to hold onto everything, he got up and took the box of wings and the drink from him. 

 

“Sorry, I just didn’t want to come to the door like this,” the blonde explained bashfully as he followed Reno into the kitchen.

 

“No problem,” Reno smirked over his shoulder at him and set the pizza on the counter before opening an overhead cabinet and selecting a couple of plates.  “I know I say it all the time but I love how shy you are when you’re not screwing my brains out.”

 

Cloud cleared his throat.  “Uh, yeah.  So they got the order right, didn’t they?”  He set the wings on the counter next to the pizza and followed up with the bottle of cola.

 

Reno’s smirk grew.  “Yeah, they got it right.  What’s the matter, Cloud?  There’s nobody to hear my dirty talk but you and me.”  He set the plates down side by side and came up behind the blond as he began to open the pizza box.  He embraced him sensually and brushed his lips against the back of his neck and his ear.  He didn’t miss the soft, swift intake of breath that Cloud responded with and he decided to play a little more, burrowing one hand up under the fighter’s t-shirt to caress the tight muscles of his stomach.

 

“Keep doing that and the food’s going to end up cold,” Cloud warned huskily, pressing back against the Turk.

 

“It’s tempting to let it, man,” Reno purred.  He was now in the same condition as Cloud and he let the blonde know it, rubbing his bulging crotch against his backside.

 

Cloud turned around in the Turk’s arms and pushed his fingers into his spiked, vivid hair as he kissed him.  Before he met Reno, a few days without sex never bothered him.  Hell, he’d been close to reaching the celibate stage before Reno jumped him that night.  Now he felt like a starved man with a buffet spread out before him.  He stroked Reno’s lips with his tongue, silently asking for entry and when the redhead obliged and parted his lips, Cloud thrust in eagerly and explored his hot mouth.  Reno moaned into the kiss and that was the end of Cloud’s self-control.

 

_~Forget the food…we can heat it up again and eat it later.~_

Cloud slid his hands out of the Turk’s hair and down his shoulders and back as he pressed closer to him and backed him up.  He cupped Reno’s ass when he had him backed up against the kitchen island and he lifted him, his mouth insistent and urgent against his.  Reno didn’t seem to mind being plopped on the island counter.  On the contrary, he returned the kiss with greater enthusiasm and wrapped his legs around Cloud’s waist. 

 

“Do me right here, right now Blondie,” the redhead gasped as he broke the kiss and licked Cloud’s chin.

 

Cloud wasn’t inclined to argue.  “You asked for it.”  He moved his hands around to Reno’s front and grabbed his shirt in both fists. 

 

The redhead made a startled sound as Cloud ripped the material open and buttons flew, but he followed up with a delighted laugh.  He had plenty of uniform shirts, after all.  Cloud sucked and nipped at his throat as he ran his hands over his torso.  Reno pulled at the bottom of Cloud’s shirt, trying to yank it up.  The blonde paused in his own explorations for a moment to assist him, lifting his arms up over his head so that Reno could get his shirt off.  A moment later the garment dropped to the kitchen floor. 

 

Cloud worked at getting Reno’s pants down next, his fingers tugging the zipper down quickly.  He lowered his head to capture one of the Turk’s pebbled nipples between his lips and he flicked his tongue over it as he undid the button on his trousers and parted the material.  Reno’s low groan of arousal and pleasure rewarded him and Cloud reached into his pants and fondled his rigid cock for a few moments, drawing further sounds of need and bliss from him.  He tugged at the pants and huffed with frustration when he couldn’t yank them down fast enough to suit him.  Reno lifted his hips obligingly, smirking craftily at him.  Cloud yanked the garment down, not bothering to pull it completely off when one leg remained clinging to the Turk’s foot. 

 

“We need protection,” Cloud reminded as Reno’s hands began to frantically work to undo his pants. 

 

Reno’s kisses were distracting and intoxicating against his throat and jaw.  “Damn, it’s in my blazer in the living room,” he muttered sloppily.  He sighed and released the blonde.  “Hurry it up, Strife.  I’m burning for ya.”

 

And hurry, Cloud did.  He made it to the living room and back in record time, clutching a condom package in one hand and a gel pack in the other.  Reno snickered at the sight of the blonde’s exposed erection bouncing as he ran back in.  Cloud didn’t seem to notice or care.  The blonde was in front of him again, his mouth lusty and hot against his and his as he dropped the items on the counter and put his hands on Reno’s shoulders to push him onto his back. 

 

Reno didn’t fight him.  His brief moment of amusement was gone in a flash, replaced with spicy lust again.  He reached down and between their crushing bodies; his lips devouring Cloud’s as eagerly as the blonde’s were devouring his.  With awkward aggression, the Turk pushed his companion’s pants down over his hips before reaching out for the lube.  He snapped it open and offered it to Cloud, panting heavily as the fighter took it and squeezed some onto two fingers to prepare him. 

 

Reno bit his lip on a cry as Cloud’s fingers pushed inside of him, thrusting back and forth with needy impatience.  The blonde eased up on his aggression when he heard the sound, his kisses gentling as he slowed the thrust of his invading fingers. 

 

“You okay?”  Cloud stopped kissing him to ask the question, his blue eyes soft on him.

 

Reno nodded and licked his lips, rotating his hips encouragingly.  “You’ve gotta stop worrying like that every time I give a shout, Blondie.  I’d tell ya if you were being too rough for me to handle.”  His sentence ended with a sharp gasp as Cloud purposely slid his fingers against his prostate. 

 

Reno moaned and put his arms around the blonde, pressing kisses all over his naked shoulders and chest.  His next lascivious comment came out as a breathless whine.  “That’s fucking great, baby.”

 

Cloud kept doing it until the redhead was shuddering helplessly and panting like he’d finished running a marathon.  Reno’s moaning cries were music to his ears and it was difficult to refrain from slipping the condom over his aching cock and sliding into the other man’s warmth.  He felt Reno’s stiff dick twitching against his abdomen and he saw the almost painful look of concentration on the Turk’s face.  He was trying so _hard_ to hold his orgasm back.

 

“You don’t have to hold it.”  Cloud smiled down at him and he almost swore with relief when he felt the tight passage around his fingers loosen up more.  Reno was probably ready for him.

 

“Want you inside me first,” Reno insisted shakenly.

 

Cloud couldn’t wait any longer.  He removed his fingers from the welcoming snugness of Reno’s body and reached for the condom.  After a few moments of cursing and struggling, he got the package open and sheathed his cock in the rubber.  He kissed Reno again as he leaned in and entered his body, groaning at the pleasure of it. 

 

“R-Reno,” Cloud blurted against the Turk’s panting mouth, closing his eyes.  He withdrew and thrust again, edging in so that he stroked the gland inside and made Reno’s eyes roll.

 

“Oh shit,” Reno whimpered, finally losing the battle to hold back.  Several short jets of milky semen expulsed from his cock to smudge against the two men’s skin as their bodies slid against one another.  “Mmm, baby,” he finished in a sigh of relief, exulting in the intense spasms of pleasure.

 

Cloud made a snarling sound and started taking him with rapid, deep thrusts as soon as the orgasm finished.  Reno had barely gotten the chance to catch his breath and he wrapped his legs around the blonde and dug his fingers into his back, leaving crescent grooves with his short-trimmed nails.  The Turk swore desperately and matched Cloud’s thrusts. 

 

“Blondie, you’re gonna get me hard again,” Reno predicted with a moan as his recently spent groin began to thicken and lengthen.  He threw his head back and shouted as Cloud’s next vigorous thrust gave him a jolt of sensation that shot clear to his toes. 

 

Cloud’s teeth were bared with carnal aggression as he looked down at his lover’s flushed face and expression of helpless ecstasy.  It felt so _good_ , he could hardly control himself.  Reno was sliding a little on the counter with each thrust and Cloud grabbed his hips to hold him still as he drove toward the final explosion of pleasure. 

 

Reno’s cock was fully awake again and he was already approaching another orgasm.  He began to gasp his thanks to the divine powers for designing his body so fantastically for sex.  He knew the average guy couldn’t get off as many times as he could when taking it up the ass and he was thankful for it.

 

“What are you…talking about?” Cloud panted after a moment.

 

The Turk realized he’d been talking out loud and he blurted a shaken laugh.  “Don’t worry about it, Blondie.  Just…keep giving me…that sweet cock of yours!”

 

Cloud was too overcome with the pleasure and heat of the encounter to query further.  He complied with the ragged demand, pumping his heated flesh firmly inside of the passionate redhead.  Reno began to toss his head and Cloud knew he was about to come again. 

 

“Do it for me, Reno,” the blonde demanded hotly.

 

Accustomed to coming on command, Reno obeyed the order and hissed, his body going taut as he again made a mess against Cloud’s thrusting torso.  This time, the internal spasms caused by the orgasm blew away the last of the blonde’s restraint and he gasped Reno’s name once more and joined him in release.

 

They panted heavily, pleasantly drained from the encounter.  Reno’s fingers combed through Cloud’s hair as the blonde rested his head on his chest.  The Turk thought that he’d never, ever get tired of his golden-haired lover’s wild spontaneity.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

After getting cleaned up and dressed, they re-heated the food and ate on the couch together as they watched an old action movie on TV.  Cloud almost resisted when Reno made to feed him a bite from his pizza, but he went along with it and enjoyed the redhead’s pleased grin.  When they finished eating, Reno pressed close to him and laid his head on his shoulder in an uncommonly sweet gesture.  Cloud tugged the elastic out of the Turk’s hair and combed through the length of it with his fingers, nuzzling his forehead.

 

During a commercial break there was a short news broadcast and both men came out of their lazy cuddle to listen.  The reporter announced that five more people had gone missing from the Cosmo Canyon community, all of them ranging in ages between seventeen to twenty-five.  She also alluded that there had been similar missing person cases around Icicle recently.

 

The number of people to go missing all at once was odd enough, but then the reporter mentioned Edge and showed footage of the building that Cloud had destroyed.

 

Swordsman and Turk put two and two together, both considering the same possibility.

 

“Think maybe the reason Deepground’s so hard to track might be because Midgar ain’t the only place they were holing up at?” Reno muttered.  “I mean, when they showed up a couple of years ago, didn’t they start with kidnapping selected people?”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud attested.  “But back then they were snatching up whole towns, herding everyone that wasn’t tainted with Geostigma into transports and killing the rest.  If they’ve got anything to do with the missing people now it can’t be for the same reason.”

 

“They were doing those experiments,” said Reno.  “There’s no more Omega for them to try and raise but I’ll bet they’ve got some other plan for world domination and to pull that off, they need to thicken their ranks, yo.”

 

Cloud nodded slowly.  “It would make sense for them to pick out young, strong candidates for recruitment…willing or not.  But these people are coming up missing in places that are halfway across the world from each other, so that would mean Deepground is scattered all over Gaia.”

 

“That’s an ugly thought, man.  We could just be barking at shadows,” Reno sighed.  “It’s probably just a freak coincidence.”

 

“Those Deepground remnants went somewhere,” Cloud reminded firmly.  “I don’t think we should rule out the possibility.  I’ll give Reeve a call and tell him about the news report, just in case he’d want to send people to double-check those areas.”

 

Reno shrugged.  “Guess it wouldn’t hurt.”

 

Cloud got up and went for the jacket he’d left draped over the nearby recliner chair.  He got his phone out of one of the pockets and returned to the couch beside Reno as he called up Reeve.

 

“Well, how is this for coincidence?” Reeve’s voice said with amusement when he answered the other line.  “Cloud, I was just about to call you.”

 

Cloud grunted, not very impressed.  “Look Reeve, we just saw a news report that I think you should know about.  Apparently some people came up missing around Cosmo Canyon and Icicle…all in the same period of time.  They were all young and healthy according to the reports.  Maybe it’s nothing but if Deepground is trying to rebuild their strength, wouldn’t they bring more people in?  Those files your people found said they were trying to enhance themselves more, too.  If they’re scattered it would explain why you’re having such a hard time tracking the ones from Midgar.  There might not have been many there after all, right?”

 

 Reeve didn’t answer for a while.  When he did, his voice sounded tenser than before.  “Damn.  Given what we know of their methods, that doesn’t sound too far fetched.  I’ll put people on it in the morning and have a talk with Rufus and Tseng.  In the meantime, I thought you’d like to know that your friend is waking up.”

 

“He is?”  All thoughts of Deepground and missing people flew out of Cloud’s head.  His elation was so strong it made his body sing. 

 

“He’s been moving around in his bed and he’s started opening his eyes,” explained the WRO leader, “I was pretty sure you’d want to be here so I was just about to call you when you rang.  Tifa is on her way down to see him now.”

 

 “Thanks, Reeve.”  Cloud’s mouth was grinning despite his efforts to control the rising happiness he felt.  “I’ll get over there as soon as possible.”

 

“What’s going on?” asked Reno as Cloud hung up the phone and put it back into his jacket.  “You look pretty chipper for a guy that was just talking about Deepground.”

 

Cloud shrugged his jacket on and got out the keys to his motorcycle, making Reno frown with curious suspicion.  “Yo, what’s happening, Blondie?”

 

“Zack’s waking up,” the blonde explained as he zipped the jacket up.  He looked Reno in the eye and his expression sobered a little.  “Are you coming with?”

 

It was on the tip of his tongue to say “no” because he was childishly annoyed that his night with Cloud was being interrupted.  Reno chided himself, remembering that this was Zack Fair—who he’d actually liked—and Cloud’s dearest friend.  Not only would it be good to see the handsome Soldier alive and kicking again but he had a feeling Cloud needed a little support.  He could see the fear in the blonde’s eyes and he guessed that he was afraid Zack wouldn’t wake up with all of his mental facilities intact, or they’d find something wrong with him.

 

“Sure, I’ll come alone,” Reno agreed.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

By the time Reno and Cloud arrived at in the research department of headquarters, Zack was fully awake and sitting up in his bed.  The staff was asking him questions and Tifa stood outside the room, watching through the open door.

 

“Cloud,” she said when he came up beside her.  “Look, he’s awake!”  She gestured into the room, her expression warring between jubilation and unease.

 

“You haven’t said ‘hello’ to him yet?” Cloud asked, his eyes fixed on the sight of his once-deceased friend.

 

“I…I can’t move,” Tifa said anxiously.  “I want to go in there but I’m afraid he won’t recognize me.  What if he doesn’t remember a thing?”

 

Cloud narrowed his eyes and listened to what the doctors and Zack were saying.

 

“Can you tell us your name and occupation?” a middle-aged doctor queried as he scribbled something down on a clipboard.

 

“Sure,” the black-haired fighter said with a shrug.  “The name’s Zackary Fair…but I go by Zack.  SOLDIER, First Class.”  Zack’s brows drew together as soon as he rattled off his unit and rank.  “No, wait a minute…that’s not right,” he said, bringing a hand to his head and running his fingers through his hair.  “I used to be in SOLDIER, but now I’m…uh…where am I again?”

 

Cloud started forward, relieved to witness that other than some understandable disorientation, his old friend seemed fine.

 

“You’re in the WRO research department of ShinRa headquarters,” answered the doctor blandly, writing more on the document in his hand.

 

Cloud swore at the look of alarm that spread over Zack’s face.  He moved faster, hoping his friend wouldn’t do anything rash before he got the chance to explain.

 

“I don’t know what a ‘WRO’ is,” Zack said in a low voice, his eyes narrowing, “but I sure a hell know what ShinRa is.  Sorry Doc, but I can’t stick around—”

 

“Zack!”  Cloud rushed to his friend’s side, knowing that Zack could start taking people down at any minute if he didn’t explain things to him fast.

 

Zack looked at him and his mouth split into a wide, wolfish smile.  “Cloud?  I’ll be damned, you can talk!”

 

Cloud briefly wondered what he meant by that but then he remembered that the last time Zack had seen him in life, he could barely move or string two words together.  Either his memory of the afterlife had been wiped when his spirit merged with his cloned body or he was simply too confused right now to remember it.

 

“Yeah, I can talk,” Cloud said with a smile.  “Listen, it’s okay.  ShinRa’s not run by the same people you remember and they’re on our side.”

 

Zack’s eyes were naturally brown but the glow of the Mako enhancements shone blue behind the irises, causing a blend of pigment that resulted in an amethyst shade.  Right now, those piercing eyes were staring at Cloud with suspicion and a little dread.

 

“What did they do to you, Cloud?”

 

“Nothing,” insisted the blonde firmly.  “Look, I’m not brainwashed and I’m not lying to you.  Rufus Shinra owns the company now and he has for a while.  I know you’re confused but try to think.  What’s the last thing you remember?”

 

Zack thought about it pensively.  “Someone shoved me through some sort of door and the last thing I heard was a chick’s voice wishing me good luck.”  He looked bemused by the recollection.

 

“That was Aerith,” informed Cloud without a doubt.

 

“Aerith?” repeated the dark-haired man.  His eyes dilated and the color drained from his face.  “Whoa…I’m starting to get something here.  Er, Cloud…I’ve been dead, haven’t I?”

 

Cloud swallowed and nodded.

 

Zack blinked, his eyes darting around blankly as memories came rushing back to him.  “This is deep, man.  How the hell did she do it?  Shouldn’t I be full of holes?”

 

“You’re not in your original body,” explained Cloud.  “There was this secret organization called Deepground that the old President Shinra started.  I guess they were supposed to replace SOLDIER someday but I’ll have Reeve explain more about that to you later.  What matters is that they had a clone of you and that’s what Aerith used to bring you back.  Your old body is…well, it’s long gone.”

 

“No wonder I feel so funky,” Zack murmured.  He poked himself in the stomach, then on the left arm.  “I’m not used to feeling much of anything and now I can feel all of these…sensations against my skin.” 

 

The black-haired fighter’s stomach growled loudly and he gave a start, looking down at it with accusing blue-violet eyes.  “Hmm, I think I’m hungry.”  He looked at Cloud with an intrigued expression on his sculpted features.  “Hey Chocobo head, is food still tasty?”

 

Cloud choked on a laugh and nodded.  “We’ll get you something to eat.”

 

“Hamburgers?” asked the other young man hopefully, his eyes lighting up with eager greed.

 

“Whatever you want,” Cloud promised, gulping against another annoying lump in his throat.  “I’ll rush out and get it myself if I have to.”  He looked over his shoulder at Tifa, who was wiping her eyes hastily.  “You remember Tifa, don’t you?”

 

“Heck yeah, I remember her,” Zack snorted.  “I never forget a pretty face.”  He reached out and cupped Cloud’s chin meaningfully, throwing a suggestive grin at him and making his head swim with confused possibilities.

 

“Uh, Tifa?” Cloud called, gesturing to the brunette.  “Come say ‘hi’.”

 

She walked in hesitantly, her eyes wide on Zack.  He saw her coming and he smirked at her.  “What’s this, have I lost my charm or something?”

 

Tifa smiled and crossed the room faster, taking his outstretched hand as she made it to his bedside.  “Hi Zack.  How are you feeling?”

 

“With my hands,” he kidded, waggling his eyebrows.

 

She rolled her eyes.  “You must be feeling pretty good if you can make silly jokes.”

 

He laughed, his eyes lighting up.  “I’m actually feeling pretty shaky but my sense of humor is a-okay.  So, how’s your bar going?”

 

She looked puzzled and surprised.  “It’s…it’s fine, but how did you know about that?”

 

He shrugged.  “Aerith and I kept an eye on everyone whenever we could, cute stuff.  Did you think I wouldn’t check in on you too?”

 

She looked at Cloud and wanted to kick herself for ever doubting his stories about the little talks he had with Zack and Aerith from time to time.  “You’re being awfully calm about this,” she said to Zack.  “I don’t think I’d be so cavalier if I’d been brought back from the dead.”

 

“I’m just happy to be here,” Zack said.  “Yeah, if I stop to think about it long enough I might start going mental, but sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it and adapt, you know?”

 

“You’re certainly adapting much faster than we could have hoped,” the doctor cut in as he checked Zack’s IV bag and looked down at him with an impressed look on his face.

 

“Give me a chance, Doc,” Zack assured him, “I’m sure I’ll freak out a little sooner or later.”

 

“I think I should check you for shock,” the doctor said with a frown.

 

“Just a minute,” Zack insisted.  He smirked at Cloud.  “Where’s your redhead at, buddy?  Are things still going good with him?”

 

Cloud nodded toward the door leading out of the room.  “He’s right there and yes, everything’s fine.”

 

Zack leaned over a little to peer around the doctor and he spotted Reno.  He waved at him and the Turk gave him a little two-finger salute back. 

 

“Are you feeling any unusual discomfort?” the doctor asked Zack.

 

The dark-haired fighter was about to shoo the man away in annoyance, wanting to spend a little time talking to his friends before getting drilled with more questions.  The inquiry made him aware of a sensation he hadn’t paid attention to before and he grimaced.

 

“Yeah,” Zack confirmed as he squirmed a little in the bed.  “I’ve got some discomfort.  I’m pretty sure I have to pee.”

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

“Alliance”

Chapter 5

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

Elation.  Remembered sorrow.  Confusion.  Memories of fear—fear for his blonde companion, fear for the world.  These were the things that warred inside of Zackary Fair as he returned to his bed on shaking legs and took a few deep breaths.  Cloud and Tifa were looking at him with concern and he gave them both a cocky smile.

 

“See?  Told you I could make it to the bathroom on my own.”  His stomach growled again and he put a hand over it and grimaced.  “Ugh…hunger pains almost make you feel sick.”

 

“They’re bringing a couple of burgers over from the cafeteria now,” Cloud offered. 

 

“Are you sure you should be eating something that heavy right away?”  Tifa regarded him dubiously.  “Maybe you should start with something light, like soup.”

 

The dark-haired Soldier made a face at her.  “Soup?  I’m starving, here!  I need some real food, Tifa.”

 

She shrugged.  “I’m just trying to look out for you.  I wouldn’t want you to push yourself and get sick all over the place.”

 

“Thanks,” he said with a crooked grin, “but I’ll risk it.  I miss food and soup doesn’t count.”

 

“Okay, if you say so,” Tifa said with a smile.  She sniffed and rubbed her eyes.  “Well, I’m going to get some sleep and let you guys catch up.  If you need anything, just ask the doctors to call me and I’ll come right down.”  She gave him a brief kiss on the forehead and stood up, walking away quickly but not before he saw the tears gathering in her eyes.

 

Zack watched her go and he sighed.  “I wish she wouldn’t cry.  Even if she’s doing it because she’s happy, it bums me out.”  His own throat was threatening to close up and he barely managed to keep his voice light enough to conceal it.

 

Afraid that if he started talking about how much Zack had been missed by both of them he’d start crying just like Tifa, Cloud went for a change of subject.

 

“We’re going to have to get you some clothes,” he said thoughtfully, his blue eyes sweeping over Zack’s reclined form.  “I’d offer you some of mine but I don’t think you’d fit in them.”

 

Zack gave the blonde a good, long look and nodded with agreement, even as he took notice that his friend’s muscles had filled out since he was a recruit and his features were more mature…though still youthful and absurdly innocent. 

 

“Hey, how old are you now?” he asked.

 

“Twenty-seven,” answered Cloud.  “Why?”

 

Zack blinked, looking him up and down.  “Really?  Damn, that much time’s gone by?  You were what, fifteen when you joined ShinRa?”

 

Cloud considered the question.  “That sounds right, yeah.”

 

Zack shook his head and grinned at him.  “You don’t look twenty-seven.  Don’t get me wrong, you don’t look like skinny jailbait anymore either, but I’d have pegged you at about twenty-one or twenty-two.  It’s hard to keep track of time when you’re dead, I guess.”

 

“You’re just now noticing I’ve grown up?” Cloud said with a faint chuckle.

 

“I noticed before, but it wasn’t very obvious,” replied Zack.  “You perceive things a little differently when you don’t have mortal senses anymore.” 

 

He suddenly bit back a laugh.  “Listen to me, I sound like a sage.”  He studied Cloud again and he sighed.  “Damn, it’s good to see you with a real pair of eyes again.”

 

Cloud plucked at the bed sheets covering Zack to the waist and lowered his eyes.  “It’s great to see you again, too.”

 

~Especially when you’re looking at me with those eyes I missed so much…and that smile.  Oh shit, I’m gonna start crying now.~

 

Zack immediately saw the solitary tear that etched its way down the blonde’s cheek.  It fell before Cloud could turn away and the black-haired fighter’s eyes burned sympathetically. 

 

“Come on, kid…don’t you start on me now,” Zack whispered.  “I could barely handle it when Tifa did it but if you start crying, I’m going to do it too and between the gown and nearly falling on my ass on the way to the bathroom, I’ve already lost a few cool points!”  His words were coming out like rapid-fire past an aching throat.

 

Cloud muttered an apology and sniffed, raising his pretty, sapphire eyes to look at Zack.  The tears kept welling up despite his obvious efforts to hold them back and Zack’s vision blurred as well.

 

“Aw, dammit…come here,” pleaded Zack achingly as he reached out for the blonde.

 

His emotions were too out of control for Cloud to refuse and he sat on the edge of the bed and put his arms around his friend’s neck, burying his tear-dampened face against his shoulder.  He heard Zack’s breath hitch and he felt answering dampness on the other man’s skin as he rubbed his face against his.

 

“Look at us,” Zack choked as he rubbed Cloud’s back and breathed in his living scent, “we’re crying like a pair of big…criers!” 

 

His usual wit had deserted him in the face of his emotional breakdown.  Gaia, had Cloud ever fit _this well_ against him before?  He’d hugged him plenty of times in the past, rocked him at night when they were on the run…anything and everything he could think of to bring a spark of life back into those amazing eyes and make him feel _safe_ , even when they were anything but. 

 

The memories of how Cloud Strife had felt in his arms were pale in comparison to the reality of here and now.  His body was fit and hard but his skin was soft…so soft that Zack wanted to just rub his face against every inch of him for the rest of the night.  His warm breath stirred his hair and tickled against his neck and the trusting way the blonde’s arms embraced him made Zack want to squeeze him to bits.  Just hugging him like this—unloading all the pain and longing and happiness—was a perfect moment for Zack…even if he was embarrassing himself a little.

 

Of course, he couldn’t have known that Reno was watching the heartfelt exchange with expert observation skills.  He couldn’t have known that the Turk saw right through him and he couldn’t have known that it scared the living hell out of Reno to see his golden lover reunited with someone that was everything he wasn’t.

 

~***************************~

* * *

 

Reno waited until Cloud and Zack calmed down and got their emotions under control again.  The usually tactless redhead practiced admirable restraint, if for no other reason than his feelings for Cloud and his respect for Zack.  When he thought it was safe to go in without embarrassing either of them with an awkward interruption, he went through the door with the box of food and the soft drink that the cafeteria sent down.

 

“Hey Fair, your food’s here,” Reno said as he crossed the room and brought the items to him.  “Better eat it before it gets cold.”

 

“You didn’t spit in it or anything, did you?” Zack inquired with a good-natured smirk.

 

For a moment, Reno wondered if the man had picked up on his feelings somehow.  The blue-violet eyes were a little red-rimmed from crying but friendly on him and the Turk decided his new rival didn’t really think he would have done something like that.  It almost made Reno wish he had, but Fair’s damned likable nature kept him from exercising such childish and underhanded pranks.

 

“Nah, I blew my nose on it man,” the redhead answered with a smirk of his own.  He set the box and the drink on the dining tray and then moved it into position over Zack’s lap. 

 

“Gross, Reno,” Cloud sputtered, “this is his first meal in years and you’re going to ruin his appetite!”

 

Zack laughed and shot a wink Reno’s way as he opened the box.  “Relax Cloud, I’m the one that started it and I’m too hungry to let a word ruin my appetite.”  He sniffed appreciatively at the hamburgers and the bed of fries they rested on.

 

Reno discovered something new:  Zack’s wink made his stomach do a little flip—which was a reaction that was usually reserved for his lovers.  He’d always thought the guy was hot but that wink made him more than just eye candy to Reno.  The redhead was shockingly flustered and he shifted from one foot to the other in confusion. 

 

_~What the fuck is this?  A minute ago I was wishing I really had spit or blown my damned nose on his food!  Now I’m wanting to get in line with Blondie to jump his bones!~_

“You okay Reno?” Cloud asked when he noticed the look of concentration and denial on his lover’s face. 

 

Reno dragged his thoughts out of the gutter and blinked at him.  “Yeah, I’m cool.  I was just thinking I’d better take off and get some rest, yo.  I’ve gotta work in the morning and it’s pretty late.”

 

“Oh,” Cloud said in a subdued voice.  “I guess Zack needs sleep too.  If you hold up a minute, I’ll come with you.”

 

“Nah, stay here and visit with your chum, Blondie.  Ya haven’t seen each other in ages and I’m sure you’ve got some catching up to do.” 

 

Reno leaned over the blonde and made it a point to give him a deep, shameless kiss on the mouth.  It was a good, long kiss and he didn’t spare the tongue.  Poor Cloud was caught off guard, his face turning red even as he returned the kiss impulsively.  Zack’s eyebrows shot up at the display and Reno was satisfied that he’d made his relationship with Cloud abundantly clear.  The Turk released his lover’s mouth and straightened up, shooting a wink of his own at Zack before turning smoothly on his heel and strutting away, whistling as he went.

 

_~You wink at me, I’ll wink right back, Wolfy.~_

~*****************************~

* * *

 

“Um, that was…he’s not usually that obvious in public,” Cloud stammered once he and Zack were alone again.  “I don’t know what got into him.”

 

Zack cleared his throat and did his best to control the twitching of his lips.  “Looks to me like someone wanted to mark his territory, Cutie-pie.”

 

Cloud stared at him.  “Why?  Oh, and don’t start with the stupid girly nicknames, man.  I’ve got enough on my mind without people here making fun of me because of your weird pet names.  I’m not a kid anymore.”

 

Zack’s eyes traveled his form lazily.  “No, you sure aren’t.  Come on, Cloud…don’t you know jealousy when you see it?  By the way, good luck getting me to stop with the pet names.  I call it like I see it, Cornflower.”

 

“Cornflower!” Cloud sputtered.  “Where did that one come from?”

 

“Your eyes,” Zack flashed a white smile at him.  “Blue as can be, just like cornflowers.”

 

 Cloud was trying hard not to smile.  “Just call me by my real name, okay?  Anyhow, you’re wrong about Reno.  He’s not the jealous type.  We’ve…uh…we’ve got sort of an open relationship.  I’m not his only partner.”

 

“But he’s yours?” Zack frowned.  “That’s not fair.”

 

“No, he’s not really my only…can we talk about this some other time?”  Cloud’s golden lashes lowered and his cheeks were charmingly pink.

 

Zack chuckled.  “You’ve come a long way from the shy little innocent I used to know.  I won’t push you, kid.  Okay, so tell me about this WRO and ShinRa.  I was so damned confused when I woke up and I’m not sure I’ve got my facts straight.  I know ShinRa cleaned up their act a little but I don’t know all the details.”

 

“I’ll try to explain it,” Cloud answered dubiously, “but you should probably talk to Reeve tomorrow if you want all of the details.”

 

“Will do,” Zack said.  He broke open a ketchup packet and squeezed the sauce out over his fries.  “Want some?”

 

“Not hungry…you eat,” Cloud said.  He gathered his thoughts to explain everything that had happened with ShinRa and the planet since Zack had been gone, but the black-haired fighter put a fry in his mouth and his eyes widened with amazement, giving Cloud pause.

 

“Oh my god,” Zack said as he chewed and swallowed.  “Food is so GOOD!  I can’t believe I forgot how good it is!” 

 

He started to gobble the fries greedily and Cloud stared open-mouthed, unused to seeing his friend make a pig of himself.  Zack had always been a fast eater but now he was stuffing fries into his mouth until his cheeks bulged and he was hardly chewing before he swallowed.  He grabbed one of the hamburgers and took a huge bite out of it…then promptly began to choke.

 

Cloud half-panicked and got up to pat his friend frantically on the back as Zack covered his mouth with a napkin and coughed raggedly.  The black-haired Soldier held out one hand with the finger raised, indicating that he just needed a minute.  Cloud reluctantly backed off and watched with round, concerned eyes as Zack grabbed his drink and sucked down about half of it.  After a moment, the coughing fit eased and Zack wiped his watering eyes.

 

“You’ve got to chew,” informed Cloud helpfully.  Inwardly he thought that if Zack got this excited over average cafeteria food, he’d probably cream himself if he ever tried Rufus’s cooking.

 

“Yeah, I kind of made a glutton of myself there,” Zack agreed with a sheepish grin.  “The taste just caught me off guard for a minute.”

 

“Just be more careful,” Cloud advised seriously, “it would be really boneheaded if you came back to life just to get owned by a hamburger in one day.”

 

Zack blurted a hearty laugh and Cloud’s softer, more reserved laughter joined it.  After they composed themselves, Zack ate at a more controlled pace and Cloud explained the WRO and ShinRa situation as best he could, filling in the blanks about the events after Meteor.  Zack already knew about a lot of it—such as Geostigma, but he was fuzzy about the whole Omega incident and he only knew a little about what everyone did after that.

 

He finished his meal before Cloud finished his story but he listened with interest, only interrupting now and then to ask a question or tell the blonde he already knew about something he was saying. 

 

“So ShinRa’s on the side of the angels now,” Zack mused after Cloud finished.  “It’s kind of hard to believe, but I’ve seen some of it with my own eyes.  Hell, you’re dating Reno of the Turks so they must have made some pretty radical changes.”

 

Cloud shifted uncomfortably.  “Their goals changed for the better but their methods are still pretty rough sometimes.  I try not to think about it because…because I love him, you know?”

 

Zack’s features softened.  “Yeah, I know you do, buddy.  That was pretty obvious when Aerith and I found you moping over his disappearance.  It takes a pretty big heart to look past your differences with him and love him for who he is.”

 

Cloud shrugged, wondering if that was true.  He’d stopped Reno from killing that wife-beater after all.  His primary motivation had been to keep the Turk from getting himself into trouble but he doubted he could have let him do it even if there weren’t any witnesses and thus, no risk of punishment from the organization for public murder.  If he really loved Reno for who he was, shouldn’t he be able to accept that part of his nature?

 

“You’re thinking too hard, Cloud.”  Zack was smiling knowingly at him.  “I guess I touched a sore spot.”

 

“Sometimes I don’t know if I’m really seeing him,” admitted the blonde.  “He’s got a completely different way of looking at the world from me and I’m afraid I’m lying to myself.”

 

“Let me tell you something, Chocobo; it doesn’t sound to me like there’s a whole lot Reno’s done that ‘good guys’ like us haven’t.  Maybe his reasons were different but hey, we both joined the military to learn how to fight…and how to kill.  You joined Avalanche to blow up ShinRa property and Reno blew up that pillar over the slums.  Both of you did what you had to do according to your situations, right?”

 

“I guess so,” Cloud said.  “He hates to be reminded about the pillar.  I don’t think he wanted to do it…I could tell by his eyes even back then when we tried to stop him.”

 

Zack nodded.  “I didn’t want to kill Angeal.  You didn’t want to give the black materia to Sephiroth.  I’m sure Reno’s done a lot of other things he didn’t want to do, just like everyone else.  You know what I think?”

 

Cloud shook his head and looked at him curiously.

 

“I think you’re seeing him just fine,” Zack finished with a smile.  “If you love the guy he’s got to be worth it.  You’re too good to love bad people, kid.”

 

Cloud was cheered by the observation.  “I think you’re the one that really _sees_ people, Zack.  Thanks.”  He paused for a moment before adding; “and I’m _not_ a kid.”

 

“Old habits die hard,” Zack apologized.  He didn’t really still think of Cloud as a kid but he thought it would make things easier if he pretended to.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

“What the hell am I thinking?” Reno ranted under his breath to himself as he walked through the parking garage to his car.  “I can’t keep doing this shit.  I’ve gotta stop being so damned greedy!” 

 

“Something troubling you, Fox?” a voice said from ahead and to the left. 

 

Reno nearly yelped, startled by the familiar, sensual voice.  “Didn’t know you were in here, boss,” he said breathlessly, trying to calm his racing heart.

 

Rufus crossed the parking garage to meet him, holding his keys in one hand.  “I decided to spend the night in my own apartment for a change,” he said.  “I was just going to my car when I overheard you muttering to yourself.”  The president stopped and studied him and the dim lights of the garage cast shadows over his fine-boned features. 

 

“Normally you can detect the sound of a pin dropping in a crowded room,” Rufus stated.  “You’ve been known to duck bullets before they’ve even left the chamber.  So tell me why a man with your observation skills is so distracted that he failed to notice the sound of my footsteps echoing in here?”  His sharp eyes studied Reno as he spoke and the Turk knew it was no good lying to him.

 

“It’s this Zack business,” Reno admitted, averting his eyes.  “Cloud looked so happy with him and it made me think about a few things.”

 

Rufus cocked his head to the side and his gray eyes narrowed.  “Reno, are you…jealous?”  A slow, ironic smile curved his sensual mouth.

 

“Fuck no!” Reno shook his head vehemently.  Rufus only looked more certain of his observation and the Turk sighed.  “Well, maybe a little.  I don’t have the right, though.  I’m sleeping with three other guys besides Strife and he pretty much just sticks with me, except when he sleeps with you.  I guess I’m really just…concerned.  I don’t wanna lose him, Rufus.”  His use of the president’s given name hinted that he needed a little affection and support.

 

Rufus gave a low, brief laugh.  “Ah, Reno…welcome to my world.”

 

The redhead looked at him with dawning comprehension.  “Your world, eh?”

 

The president nodded.  “Now you know exactly how I felt when your affair with Strife began.  I can’t say that I’m not enjoying this—at least a little bit.”

 

Reno’s expression soured.  “Well, it sucks!”  He knew it sounded childish but it was the bare truth about the mixture of fear, interest and jealousy he was experiencing.  “If he’s got a hero like Fair to be with, why would he still want someone like me?”

 

Rufus sobered, his eyes holding the fuming Turk’s.  “Believe me, I know the feeling.”

 

Reno’s blue-green eyes looked a bit lost and sad as they gazed back at him and Rufus sighed and closed the remaining distance between them, putting an arm around his lover’s shoulders. 

 

“Reno, I pulled some of the stupidest stunts on record to gain control of Cloud Strife, because I was so afraid that he would take you from me…from _us_.  It wasn’t simple jealousy that drove me; it was the fear that your relationship with him would make you see us in a different light and lose interest.  Does any of this sound familiar to you?”

 

“A little _too_ familiar,” agreed the redhead with a grimace.  He had become Rufus Shinra.  The thought made him smirk a little. 

 

“As it turned out,” Rufus went on, “I never needed to do any of those things.  I was worrying over nothing.  Your devotion to me and the others remained intact despite my concerns.”

 

“But this is different,” Reno insisted, “Cloud swore up and down they were just friends and he keeps telling me Fair is only into women, but if you saw ‘em together you would have seen the chemistry too, boss.  I don’t care what Blondie says; he and Wolfy are hot for each other. Zack’s like him, you know?  They _fit_ together.”

 

“And you ‘fit’ with us, yet your affections for us didn’t diminish your affections for Cloud, did it?” Rufus persisted. 

 

“No,” Reno agreed.  He looked sidelong at his boss, admiring his clarity.  “I guess you’re right.  It’s just…ah, shit…I’m a freakin’ slut, boss.”

 

“You’re attracted to Fair,” Rufus casually stated.

 

Reno swallowed and gave him a sheepish look.  “Sorry.  I won’t try anything though…promise.”

 

Rufus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, gathering his thoughts.  “Reno, since you started your affair with Strife, I’ve come to understand something about you.  Forbidden fruit only makes you more reckless and desperate for it, so I’m content to let things go as they may.  You’ve already proven to me that outside romantic interests won’t make you neglectful of my needs.  Perhaps it would even be beneficial for you to have a black wolf to go with your golden one.”

 

Reno stared at him, agape at the unexpected encouragement.  “Yo, did you just tell me to go for it with Fair, Sir?”

 

Rufus shrugged and combed his fingers through Reno’s long ponytail.  “If the two of them are as ‘hot’ for one another as you say, I see no reason why you shouldn’t be…supportive.  You could shoot for a matching set, so to speak.”

 

Reno grinned slyly at him.  “You wanna tap him too, don’t ya, boss?”

 

Rufus looked back at him and smiled faintly.  “I’ll admit that his surname is ironically appropriate.  Zackary is certainly ‘fair’ on the eyes.  However, I hardly know the man.  What I do know is that it’s far easier to join in than to fight a pairing and going by his looks and what little I know of his personality, I can hardly blame you for having an interest.”

 

“I don’t think you’re ever going to stop surprising me,” Reno declared in a wry tone.

 

“I’m a surprising person,” Rufus agreed.  “Now that we’ve gotten this little discussion out of the way, I’d rather not go home to an empty bed.  Stay with me tonight, Reno.”

 

“You got it,” purred the redhead in concordance.  He nibbled the president’s ear with sensual appreciation.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud and Zack eventually ran out of energy and when the black-haired fighter dozed off, the blonde decided to retire to his suite for some rest, too.  He came right back down the next morning, bringing breakfast to his friend and eating with him.  Shortly after they finished, Reeve came into the room and introduced himself to Zack.  He provided further information about what his organization did and what was going on with Deepground.  After that, he asked for the fighter’s measurements and sent one of his staff to get some combat gear and basic clothes for him.

 

“When you’ve recovered enough to be released, we’ll set you up with a suite here in the building and give you company credit to buy more clothing of your choice with,” Reeve told him as he went over his charts.  “Most of the shops in Junon accept our card, so you should have plenty of variety to replace your wardrobe with.”

 

“Wow, that’s really generous of you,” Zack said.  His expression darkened into one of suspicion.  “So what’s the catch?”

 

Reeve was un-offended.  “The ‘catch’ is that we would like your consent to run a few tests.  They wouldn’t be anything serious…only some blood samples, a few strands of hair and maybe a skin scraping.  It would be beneficial to our research and it could lead to more advanced medical treatment.  It would also be beneficial to you, since all we know about what was done to your body while you were under Deepground’s control was what we found in the files that we rescued from the compound.”

 

Zack looked at Cloud, who was sitting in the chair beside his bed.  “What do you think, Cloud?”

 

The blonde looked from Reeve to Zack with an uncertain expression on his face.  “You don’t have to agree to any of it if you don’t want to and I really wouldn’t blame you if you don’t.  I trust Reeve though, and I think you should try to find out what’s going on inside of you so there won’t be any ugly surprises.”

 

Zack’s mouth twisted in distaste but he nodded, finding his friend’s reasoning solid.  “Yeah, I don’t want any weird surprises either.  Plus, it’d make me feel pretty good if my blood helped come up with a cure for some major disease.”  He looked up at Reeve and nodded.  “Count me in.”

 

“Thank you,” the engineer said sincerely.  “There’s also one other thing.  Your skills are well documented, Zackary—”

 

“Call me ‘Zack’,” the dark-haired fighter interrupted.  “The long version sounds so…scoldy.”

 

Reeve hid a smile.  “Okay, ‘Zack’ it is.  As I was saying: your fighting skills are said to be pretty incredible.  I know that you need time to adjust and recover but I would like you to consider joining our cause.  People don’t come back from the dead every day and on the rare occasion that they do, history’s shown that it usually means something big is on the horizon.  We could use your skills.  You’d get a salary of course, and your gear would be supplied by the organization.”

 

Zack grimaced.  “Fight for ShinRa again, eh?”

 

“Well, technically you’d be fighting for the WRO, but yes, ShinRa funds the organization and works with us,” Reeve reminded him.

 

Zack shrugged.  “I guess if Chocobo-head is working with you guys, you must be all right.  I can’t promise I’ll be any good after all this time but you’ve got me.”

 

Reeve glanced at Cloud, his brown eyes twinkling with amusement as the blonde blushed and nudged Zack with irritation.  “What a…creative moniker.  You know Cloud, your hair really does look a little like a chocobo’s crest.”

 

Cloud shot a murderous blue glare at Zack, who just grinned fondly at him and reached out to ruffle his feathery hair.

 

“I’ll just go and fill out the paperwork for your tests,” Reeve said tactfully.

 

When he was gone, Zack made his feelings about the engineer known.  “Reeve’s great.  He’s the one that has the mechanical cat, right?”

 

“Yeah,” confirmed Cloud.  “He’s also got a monkey.”

 

“A monkey?”  Zack looked amused and impressed at the same time.  “Does it do any tricks?”

 

“He says it can dance but I haven’t seen it do it yet,” replied the blonde.  “It’s pretty good at pulling annoyed faces at Reeve, though.  I think it’s mad at him because he hasn’t given it speech, like he gave Cait Sith.”

 

Zack laughed.  “I can’t wait to meet the rest of your friends.”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

“Alliance”

Chapter 6

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

 

Cloud kept getting two kinds of funny feelings and they kept getting stronger as days went by. 

 

First, there was Zack.  His friend had always been a flirt but the blonde slowly began to suspect that he flirted with him more than anyone else.  He continued to dismiss it, telling himself that it only seemed that way because Zack loved him…platonically, of course.  It made sense that the handsome ex-Soldier would give him more attention than anyone else.

 

Then, there was Reno.  The redhead was busy but even when he was utterly swamped, he always found the time to plant a wet one on Cloud, throw an arm around him or grope his bottom and his already shaky sense of public propriety had taken a downhill slide.  He did it most often in front of Zack and Cloud became sure that the Turk felt threatened by his friend.

 

Zack’s recovery was coming along nicely and by the third day, he was released and began submitting to some of the tests that Reeve had requested.  He was given a suite a couple of doors down from Denzel and Marlene and he started working out with swimming first, wisely holding off on the more rigorous exercises until more of his strength returned.

 

The kids both loved him right away.  In many ways, Zack was like a big kid himself.  They went swimming with him whenever they got the chance and Cloud and Tifa both shook their heads with fond amusement when those pool gatherings turned into splash fights—usually instigated by Zack.

 

Today was just such a day.

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

“Cannonball!”

 

Marlene wiped water out of her eyes and looked up at Zack with alarm.  “Oh _nooo_ , Zack!  I _hat_ e those!”  She made a warding gesture at him.

 

 Zack grinned at the little girl mischievously.  “Oh yeah…better get out now cupcake, ‘cause here I come!”  He took a running leap from the diving board just as Tseng walked into the pool room and started towards him.  Marlene paddled toward the ladder as fast as she could but Zack was hurtling through the air too fast for her to make it out in time. 

 

“This isn’t going to go well,” Tifa muttered to Cloud out the side of her mouth as she and the blonde hastily backed against a far corner of the pool.  Zack tucked his legs up in his arms and hit the water with a great splash.  Despite her protests, Marlene giggled when she was lifted by the resulting wave and Denzel hooted gleefully.

 

Tseng stood impassively as he was drenched from head to toe.  The Wutaian calmly reached into a breast pocket and withdrew a handkerchief, wiping his face with it as Zack surfaced with a wild yell.

 

“I’m glad to see that your zest for life isn’t diminished,” Tseng commented.

 

 Zack turned and looked up at him with a surprised expression.  He cringed a little when he saw that he’d inadvertently bathed the Turk leader’s tailored suit with pool water.  “Ooh, sorry about that, Tseng.  Where have you been hiding?”  He scanned the other man with his eyes.  “You’ve hardly changed at all, except your hair’s longer.”

 

“I’ve been away on scouting missions,” replied Tseng with a faint smile.  “I thought you were supposed to be exercising.”

 

Zack treaded water and shrugged.  “This _is_ exercise.  I’m just having fun while I do it.”  He splashed Denzel abruptly, making the teen yelp and splash him back.

 

“Fair enough,” Tseng conceded.  “I thought I’d drop by to say ‘hello’ to you.  I also wanted to apologize.  I had letters that I’ve been holding onto for years, addressed to you from Aerith.  Had I known this would occur, I would have kept them and given them to you.  Instead, I gave them to Cloud because I thought he should have them and he chose to send them off in the Lifestream.”

 

“Oh that,” Zack said with a shrug.  “Don’t worry about it, I got ‘em.”

 

Tseng looked decidedly mystified.  “You did?”

 

“Yeah.”  Zack grinned at him.  “What happened to all that Wutaian spirituality of yours?  He sent them through the Lifestream and that’s where I was.”

 

“I see,” the Turk said softly, a faint smile tugging his lips.  “Well then, I feel much better.  Enjoy the rest of your day, Zackary.”  He gave Cloud and Tifa a polite nod before turning and heading back to the door.  Reno came in as he was leaving and the redhead greeted him as they passed.

 

“So this is where all of you are,” Reno commented.  He walked around the swimming pool to the corner where Cloud and Tifa floated and he squatted down behind them.  “I’ve only got a few minutes to hang, Blondie.  C’mere.”

 

Cloud turned to look up at him with round eyes.  “Uh, we’ve got kids here…” he reminded.  Tifa was also looking disapproving. 

 

“Don’t mind us,” Denzel said as he closed his eyes and covered Marlene’s with his hands. 

 

“Hey!  What’s going _on_?” the little girl complained.

 

Reno grinned and cupped Cloud’s chin with one hand, bringing his mouth to his for a brief, aggressive kiss.  He chuckled at the blonde’s muffled protest and he ruffled his damp hair when he was finished.  “Keeps me going through the day.”

 

It was on the tip of Zack’s tongue to comment that Cloud must be a pretty damn good kisser but he restrained himself, if only for Marlene’s sake.  Obviously his friends weren’t ready for the little girl to know what kind of relationship Cloud was in.  He thought they were being a little paranoid and he doubted they’d be as worried about it if Reno were a woman instead of a man.  Marlene didn’t strike him as the kind of person that would freak out over it.  Shrugging, the black-haired fighter swam to the ladder and got out of the pool so that he could take another dive.

 

Reno stood back up and gave Zack a thoughtful look.  He was wearing dark blue boardshorts.  They weren’t anything special but they looked _good_ on him and he had a great body, pale as it was from lack of sun exposure.  The man’s body was smooth, lacking any scars since it hadn’t seen battle yet.  The redhead couldn’t help but notice the way the wet material clung to Zack’s skin and he grinned when his eyes fixated on the crotch area.  No wonder he didn’t wear briefs.  Reno’s sharp eyes noted the size of the bulge and he figured Zack was hung pretty well. 

 

The sight of the former soldier in his swimming trunks nudged Reno’s memory all the sudden and he laughed.  “Hey Fair, remember that time the copies attacked us in Costa del Sol and you fought ‘em off with an umbrella?”

 

Zack paused with one foot on the diving board and he grinned back at the redhead.  “Oh yeah!  Good times, man.”

 

Cloud looked from Reno to Zack with an interested expression on his face.  “An umbrella?”

 

“Yup,” Zack admitted.  “I was on vacation…at least that’s what the company called it…and these genesis copies attacked me on the beach.  Reno and Tseng were there to keep an eye on me and so was Cissnei.”

 

Reno shrugged when Cloud looked at him suspiciously.  He’d always guessed that Zack knew it wasn’t a coincidence that the Turks were “vacationing” at the same time he was.  “He needed some time off and they wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to go unhinged, yo.  Anyhow, we got attacked first and after Rude and I fought ‘em off we went down to the beach to see if the others were okay.  We got there just in time to see Zack kicking ass with one of those giant beach umbrellas.  He was swinging it around pretty as you please, like it was his sword or something.”

 

“You’re serious?” Cloud looked at Zack with a little half-smile. 

 

“I wasn’t expecting to get jumped,” Zack said wryly, “I didn’t have my sword on me so I improvised.”

 

“I’d like to see that,” Cloud scoffed.

 

Zack looked around at the tables and chairs lining the walls and he smirked at one of the large umbrellas.  “I could show you right now, buddy.  I don’t know if I’ve still got the moves since I haven’t started training yet, but there’s one way to find out.”

 

Cloud considered the offer and he nodded.  “You’re on.  I want to see this.” 

 

He swam to the ladder and Reno watched him get out with a surprised and delighted expression on his face.  Zack walked over to one of the tables and pulled the umbrella out of the hole in the center, snapping it shut and swinging it in an experimental arc.  Cloud approached and did the same with another umbrella, smiling openly at his friend as he moved into position.

 

“I’ll try to take it easy on you,” the blonde promised.

 

“Not too easy,” Zack advised with a confident smirk, “I’m out of practice but I’m not a pushover.”

 

“Are they gonna attack each other?” Marlene asked with wide eyes as the two fighters got into a combat stance.

 

“Guys, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Tifa warned, “Someone could get hurt.”

 

“It’s safer than swords, Sweet Cheeks,” Zack said, his blue-violet eyes never leaving Cloud.  “We’ll be practicing with those soon enough too.”

 

Tifa lapsed into silence but the look on her face suggested she didn’t feel any better about their horseplay.  Reno watched with anticipation, wondering when they were going to start.  The two fighters eyed one another silently, looking quite serious.  Suddenly they both exploded into motion and their umbrellas crossed as they took a swing at one another.  Zack grinned and Cloud smirked before they broke away from each other.  Cloud hopped over a low swing his dark-haired opponent aimed at him and Zack dodged as the blonde spun his umbrella over his head and aimed for the black-haired man’s chest. 

 

Marlene and Denzel made excited exclamations as Cloud and Zack rolled, spun, stabbed and swung at one another.  Despite his earlier proclamations of being out of practice, Zackary was fighting like it was second nature to him.  His style was similar to Cloud’s but not quite as aggressive.  Whether this was because he preferred to focus on both defense and offense or because he wasn’t in practice was anyone’s guess.

 

Cloud feinted to the left and he managed to catch the other man off-guard and nearly scored a hit, but Zack blocked his attack at the last minute with a little grunt of exertion.  The counter-strike was expected but it didn’t come from the direction Cloud anticipated and he winced as he got a glancing blow on his shoulder.  

 

“Sorry man,” Zack huffed, grimacing sympathetically.

 

“Happens sometimes,” Cloud grinned. 

 

He didn’t pause, keeping Zack on his toes and barely missing him several more times.  He could tell his friend was getting into his element more with each passing minute and it was hard not to be distracted by memories.  Seeing Zack fighting like this brought him back and Cloud felt a thrill as the other man’s swings grew more and more precise.  With a little practice every day, Zack would be as amazing as he used to be.  He was already impressive now and Cloud doubted that the others noticed the little discrepancies in his timing and balance.

 

Zack felt his adrenaline pumping and he smiled, missing that rush.  Cloud was good…really good.  He’d always known he had some amazing potential and he was glad the blonde proved SOLDIER made a mistake in passing him over.  He knew Cloud wasn’t attacking him with full strength and he was distantly grateful for that as he broke into a sweat.  While he was confident in himself, Zack was also practical and he wasn’t about to pretend he could take on a much stronger challenge than the easy sparring the two of them were doing.

 

He felt a strange sensation zip up his spine as his adrenaline peaked and Zack frowned in concentration, ignoring the brief opening he spotted out of fear that he could inadvertently cause serious harm to his friend if he took it.  It felt like his strength was building rather than failing, despite the amount of effort it took to keep Cloud from gaining further advantage over him.  Zack gasped sharply as he felt a popping sensation in his shoulder blades and he held up one hand and lowered his umbrella.

 

“Hold up,” the black-haired fighter panted as he rolled suddenly stiff shoulders and tried to loosen the muscles in his back.  “Feels like I’m getting a muscle spasm or something.”

 

Cloud did stop, but the way he did so gave Zack pause.  The blonde abruptly dropped his umbrella and stared at him with a doll-like expression of shock on his fair features.  He took a couple of steps backwards and tripped, falling to the tiled floor numbly.  Zack frowned down at him in concern. 

 

“Hey, you all right?”  Zack started to take a step towards his friend, who was staring up at him with glossy blue eyes.  The black-haired fighter glanced at the others in the room and he noticed that they too were staring at him with the same bewildered expression.  “What’s up, guys?”

 

“Uh,” Reno said stupidly, pointing at him.  For once, the noisy redhead was speechless.

 

“Dude,” Denzel exclaimed, “You’ve got wings!”

 

“You turned into an angel!” Marlene added, her brown eyes shining with more wonder than fear.

 

Zack glowered in confusion.  “Huh?” 

 

“Look over your shoulder,” Cloud said through stiff lips, pointing up.

 

_~Okay, now they’re scaring me because I don’t think they’re kidding.~_

Zack glanced over his right shoulder and he gave a start.  A perfect, graceful white wing hung suspended in the air.  He looked over his left shoulder and found a matching one.  Panic shot through him and he turned in a circle, trying to get a better look at the protrusions. 

 

“What the hell??  Get ‘em off!”  He began to turn in circles like a demented marionette, waving his arms frantically.

 

“Cant.  They’re kind of attached to your back,” Cloud said in an awed tone.

 

Tifa quickly got out of the pool and ran to Zack’s side, fearful that he’d knock into something and hurt himself in his alarm.  “Zack,” she called as she reached out for him, “calm down, okay?  You’ll hurt yourself!”  She dodged as one of his sweeping wings nearly hit her.  She caught hold of one of his hands and called his name again, more urgently.

 

Zack stopped spinning in circles and let Tifa take both of his hands.  His chest rose and fell rapidly with his panicked breath and his eyes were wide and dilated.  “I don’t get it,” he rasped.  “What the hell am I?”

 

“They said you were treated with G-cells,” Reno said as he gathered his wits and circled the pool.  “The files said you were the ‘perfect specimen’ too, yo.  Genesis had a wing and so did Sephiroth and your boy Angeal, remember?”

 

“They had ONE wing,” Zack reminded.  He glanced over each shoulder again, once at a time.  “Unless I’ve forgotten how to count, I’ve got two of ‘em.”

 

“Yeah,” Reno agreed as he stopped by Cloud.  He grunted softly as he pulled on the blonde’s hand and helped him up.  “They also deteriorated, man.  Well, except Sephiroth…but he was part of that ‘S-project’ like Cloudy, here.”

 

“You don’t think this is going to happen to him, do you?” Zack said with a concerned look at Cloud, forgetting all about his own troubles for the moment.  He could handle just about anything that happened to himself but the thought of anything else happening to the blonde drove him crazy.

 

“Hey, I’m no scientist,” Reno shrugged, looking at his lover thoughtfully, “but my guess is if he was gonna sprout a wing or two, he’d have done it by now.”

 

Zack felt some relief at that observation and he calmed down a little.  “Well, I always envied Angeal’s wing,” he said with an ironic twist to his lips.  “I never thought I’d sprout a pair of my own, though.  Man, this is just crazy!”  He stretched both wings out experimentally, working muscles he’d never had before.  The others stared as the white feathers spread to an impressive span and Tifa gave a little sigh of admiration.

 

“Maybe we should have the science team take a look at you,” Cloud suggested with a gulp.  Seeing his handsome friend standing there like that with a pair of huge white wings and the afternoon sunlight beaming through the window on him was something he didn’t think he’d ever forget. 

 

Zack looked at him through damp, disheveled black bangs and nodded slowly.  “I think you’re right, Goldie.  I need to know what triggered this and whether I’m going to be permanently stuck with these.  If I am I’ve got a lot more training to do, ‘cause fighting’s going to be a _whole_ lot different with a set of wings.”

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Reeve was going over more reports concerning the Deepground files when someone cleared their throat at him.  He looked up just as he was lifting his coffee to his mouth and he promptly dropped the mug in shock.  He hissed a curse as the hot coffee spilled all over his lap, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off the spectacle of Zackary Fair standing over him in a pair of drawstring sweat pants with two sweeping, white wings rising from his back.

 

“Yeah, I’m right there with you, pal,” commented Zack dryly, crossing his arms over his bare chest. 

 

Cloud, Tifa, Reno and the kids stood behind the black-haired man, all of them looking at Reeve expectantly, as if to say: _“Well, fix this!”_

 

 “When did…how did…you’ve got…” Reeve stammered as he yanked his reading glasses off his face.

 

“Uh huh,” Zack nodded.  “That’s what _I’d_ like to know.”

 

“I…I’ll call for someone…go to one of the examination rooms, would you?” Reeve’s mouth felt like it was full of cotton as he gestured.  Zackary wasn’t looking a bit pleased and considering they were still researching the effects of what was done to him, the engineer was faintly worried that the young man might lose his temper and grow further appendages.

 

Vincent walked into the office just as Zack and the others turned around to file out of it and the gunman halted, staring at Fair with narrowed crimson eyes.  “You’ve grown wings,” he observed calmly.

 

“Yup,” Zack agreed.  “They just popped up out of nowhere.”

 

“Interesting.”  Vincent leaned to the side to peer behind the group at his lover.  “I take it this only just occurred?”

 

“Seems so,” Reeve confirmed.  “We’re going to look into it and figure out what triggered it.  Hopefully the wings are the only things he’ll sprout.”

 

Zack turned around and stared at him with bugging eyes.  “’Hopefully’??  I better NOT grow anything else, man!”

 

“It’s documented that most other recipients of the G-project manifested a single wing,” Reeve said cautiously, “I’m guessing that the presence of two and your lack of deterioration are symptoms of the perfected treatment.  I really don’t think we can expect any more additional body parts but we should do some testing to be safe.”

 

“Told ya,” Reno said smugly.  “It could be worse, man.  You could start falling apart like the others did.”

 

“Yeah, I’m real lucky,” Zack muttered.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

“Well, I rather expected something like this to happen,” the scientist explained as he checked Zack’s vitals. 

 

“But you didn’t say anything!” Zack mumbled around the thermometer in his mouth.  “If you thought this was gonna happen you guys should have told me!”

 

“We couldn’t be certain,” Professor Green said, his hazel eyes bemused.  “I expected the wing growth to happen sooner, if it was going to happen at all.  The good news is according to the research files, you should be able to make them come and go at will.”

 

“So I’m not stuck with them?” Zack queried hopefully.

 

“Theoretically, no,” the scientist answered.  He checked Zack’s pulse and wrote down the results.  “Of course, Genesis and the others didn’t have two wings.  I’m counting on the fact that they could manifest their single wings at will to assume you can do the same.  Tell me, what were you doing when this happened?”

 

“I was just horsing around with Cloud.”

 

Professor Green paused and glanced at them both.  “Define ‘horsing around’.”

 

“We were…uh…sword fighting,” Zack answered.

 

“Only we were using umbrellas,” supplied Cloud.

 

“You were sword fighting with umbrellas?” repeated the scientist with a frown.

 

“Yeah…you know, for practice,” Zack shrugged.

 

“Hmm.  The adrenaline spike might have triggered the manifestation,” theorized the scientist.

 

“That sounds about right.”  Zack remembered the rush he felt just before the wings broke free. 

 

“It’s my fault,” Cloud said softly.

 

Zack looked at him with a frown.  “What are you talking about?”

 

“I’m the one that wanted to see you fight with an umbrella.”  The blonde sighed and averted his sapphire eyes.

 

“Hey, that’s crazy talk.”  Zack reached out and ruffled his friend’s hair.  “You didn’t make this happen and you didn’t hold a gun to my head and force me to spar with you.  If the adrenaline rush caused this, it would have happened sooner or later.”

 

“I guess.”  Cloud didn’t sound fully convinced.

 

“He likes to feel guilty,” Marlene informed Zack in a whisper.

 

“That’s not true,” argued Cloud with an annoyed look at the child.  “I just…feel responsible.”

 

“Well, cut it out,” Zack insisted with a sigh.  “How were you supposed to know this would happen?  You just wanted a little friendly duel with your old pal.  Heck, if anything it’s probably a good thing this happened sooner than later, you know?”

 

“How is it a good thing?”  Cloud’s brooding expression didn’t drop.

 

“Because it gives us more time to discover how and why it occurred,” the professor answered before Zack could formulate a response, “and Mister Fair will have more time to adjust to it.  Better that it happen in a safe environment than in the middle of a real fight.”

 

Cloud thought about the looming threat of Deepground and he had to agree.  “So what happens next?”

 

“We’ll run a few more tests,” answered the scientist, “meanwhile, I think Zack should concentrate on learning how to use his new wings, as well as trying to learn how to de-manifest them.”

 

Zack sighed.  “I guess if Angeal and the others could do it, there’s got to be a way.”  He closed his eyes and concentrated, imagining the wings shrinking into his back.  After a moment he opened one eye.  “They still there?”

 

“Yeah, they haven’t budged,” answered Reno. 

 

Zack grumbled. 

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

An hour later, Zack still had his wings but the professor was able to confirm that he shouldn’t grow further appendages, based on the research. 

 

“I don’t know what to tell you, son,” Professor Green said to the frustrated young man.  “I can’t make them go away for you…unless you’d like me to amputate them.”

 

“Uh, I’ll pass on that,” Zack said with a nervous smile.  “Guess I’ll just have to get used to it until I can work this all out.”  Reno had to go back to work and Tifa and the kids had gone to get some food at the cafeteria, leaving only Cloud to stay with him.  He looked at his blonde friend and shrugged.  “Guess there’s nothing else they can do for me right now.  I don’t know about you but I’m getting kind of hungry.”

 

“Yeah, let’s go get something to eat,” agreed Cloud.

 

Zack hopped off the examination table and thanked the professor before exiting with his friend.  They spotted Reeve on their way out of the research department and he hurried over when he saw them.

 

“Well?  Did you get any good news?”

 

“Yes and no,” Zack replied.  “I’m not going to sprout tentacles or anything but they can’t tell me how to make these go away either.  I’m going to have to figure that out on my own.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually,” Reeve encouraged, “I can’t imagine them growing so suddenly if you can’t make them retract as well.  Maybe you should just try to relax a bit…have some drinks and calm your nerves.”

 

“Sounds like a good plan,” agreed Zack.  “So, the cafeteria has a bar, doesn’t it?”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud provided.  “They’ve got a decent beer and liquor selection.  Maybe if you toss back a few you’ll mellow out enough to make your wings go away.”

 

Reeve chuckled as he considered the spectacle Zack was going to make, walking into the cafeteria like that.  “You don’t seem like the shy type but I should warn you, people are probably going to stare.”

 

Zack shrugged.  “Let ‘em.  As long as nobody comes at me with pitchforks and hoe handles I can deal with it.”

 

“If my people come up with anything new, I’ll call you right away,” promised the engineer.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Zack ordered a full pitcher of beer for the table after he and Cloud sat down with Tifa and the others.  Denzel looked at the pitcher with wide eyes and then at Zack.

 

“Are you gonna drink that whole thing by yourself?”

 

Zack laughed softly and pointed out the three mugs he’d gotten with it.  “No way.  Your guardians are going to help me.”

 

“None for me, thanks,” Tifa said with a little grimace.

 

“Aw, sorry Tifa.  I’ll go get something else for you if you want.”  Zack didn’t seem the least bit worried about the stares he was getting from other people in the cafeteria.  The poor bartender had been so fascinated with him that she’d left the beer tap going until it overflowed in the pitcher.  A guy in a suite tripped over his own feet while passing their table and he ended up wearing half his dinner.

 

“That’s sweet of you, but I’m just not a big drinker,” she said with a shrug.  “Maybe it’s because I work with the stuff all the time.  I’m also kind of picky when it comes to other people mixing my drinks.  I like them done a certain way and most people don’t get it right.”

 

Zack clucked his tongue and gave her a look of mock disappointment before pouring a mug full of beer for himself and Cloud.  “Can’t say I didn’t offer.”

 

Cloud took a bite of his taco and glanced at Zack’s full plate as the other man picked up an eggroll.  “Chew it this time,” the blonde mumbled after swallowing.

 

Zack smirked at him.  “Yes, Dad.”  He took a bite out of the eggroll, careful not to bite off more than he could chew.  He was getting better about his eating habits but he knew that if Cloud didn’t remind him now and then to pace himself he’d probably have choked a half a dozen times again by now.

 

“He almost killed himself with his first meal,” Cloud explained when Tifa and the kids looked at him questioningly.  “He started stuffing his face and he choked.”

 

“Zackary,” sighed Tifa with a smile.

 

“Hey,” the black-haired fighter protested after swallowing, “you’d have pigged out too if you hadn’t eaten anything for…how many years was I dead again?”

 

“Five,” Cloud and Tifa answered together. 

 

“Wow, you guys answered that fast,” Zack mused.  He took another bite, chewed and swallowed.  “Sounds like you kept track of it pretty good.”

 

“I lit a candle every year after I found out you were gone,” Tifa said.  Her voice broke and she hastily looked away, blinking.

 

“Nuh-uh,” Zack said firmly, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand.  “Don’t do that again, cute stuff.  I’m here now and if you start getting all teary-eyed on me you’ll bum me out.”

 

“Sorry,” she said, smiling tremulously as Marlene patted her back and Zack rubbed her hand.  “I think my mind is still trying to catch up to the fact that you’re alive again.  That reminds me, have you tried to contact your parents yet?”

 

Zack withdrew his hand and took a drink of beer, shaking his head uncomfortably.  “No.  I want to but I’m afraid.  I’d love to know how they’re doing and all but Dad’s heart wasn’t so good before I died and I don’t want to give him a heart attack.”

 

“Maybe Rufus can have someone check in on them,” offered Cloud sympathetically.  “I know Cissnei visits them once in a while.  Maybe when she gets back you could ask her?”

 

“Cissnei,” Zack murmured with a smile, remembering the Turk girl’s gentle brown eyes and kind smile.  “I still don’t get why she ever joined the Turks.  She seems way too sweet for it.”

 

“I got the same impression,” Tifa agreed.

 

“Well, Reno told me she’s one of the best operatives they’ve got, so I guess it takes all kinds,” Cloud said with a shrug.  He took a few swallows of his beer and had another bite of his taco.

 

Irony comes in many forms and they discovered this as Reno hurried into the cafeteria looking for Cloud.  Upon spotting him, the redhead covered the distance with long strides and bent over to whisper in his ear.  Cloud stared at him with huge sapphire eyes as he was informed that the girl they had all just been talking about was lying in the infirmary in a broken, bloody mess.

 

“Uh, excuse me guys,” Cloud said as he got up and walked away with Reno. 

 

Zack watched with narrowed eyes as Cloud and his lover stopped in a corner of the cafeteria to talk privately.  The redhead was agitated, his gestures animated and jerky as he talked to the blonde.  The look of horror on Cloud’s face suggested that whatever Reno was telling him was bad news, indeed.

 

“Did you catch anything he said?” Tifa murmured, also eying the exchange with worry.

 

“Something about Cosmo Canyon,” Zack muttered back.  Both of the kids looked concerned and he tried to ease the tension, guessing that Reno’s news wasn’t something for young ears to hear.  “Hey, did I ever tell you two how Cloud and I met?”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

“Alliance”

Chapter 7

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

“Who did this to her?” Zack stared into the room where Cissnei lay, her face terribly swollen and bruised.  There was a cast on her left arm and bandages around her right leg, where they had sutured a nasty cut. 

 

Reno stood beside Cloud, who was to Zack’s left.  His blue-green eyes were bright with fury as he stared at the abused form of his fellow Turk.  “From what we could get out of her, Deepground did it,” he said.  “She was checking out the Cosmo area and she found something near the Ancient Forest.  She went in to check it out but she got caught before she could call for backup.  They beat her up pretty good before she got away and I still don’t know how the hell she managed to escape.  Her pilot had to carry her from the landing pad, she was in such bad shape.”

 

Reno’s voice dropped and he swallowed.  “She freaks out when any men try to touch her.  They’ve got her sedated but even juiced up with the good stuff, she takes a swing when any males try to get close.  The doctors think they…they…” He shook his head and dragged his fingers through his bright hair, snarling softly.

 

“They think she was raped,” Zack finished with a clenched jaw.

 

Reno nodded and clenched his fists.  Like many other Turks, he had a soft spot for Cissnei and the thought of anyone doing something like that to her made his blood burn.  Tseng was locked in his office, already making plans to assemble a counter-strike against the bastards and possibly take prisoners to get more information.  The Wutaian’s eyes were so hard and cold when Yuri interrupted Reno’s report to tell him about Cissnei.  Tseng almost had a paternal attitude toward the young woman and Reno didn’t doubt that the news of her assault angered him as much as it would have if she’d been his flesh and blood daughter.

 

“They’re gonna pay,” the redhead promised gruffly.  “They’ll pay until they wish they were fucking dead.”

 

Cloud reached out and rubbed his lover’s tense neck, helpless to say or do anything to make the situation better.  Zack was just as tense as Reno and he had a look on his face that Cloud had only seen once before; back when he was only partly aware and suffering Mako poisoning.  That look that was on the black-haired fighter’s face now was the same one he’d had when Hollander tried to get to Cloud.  Zack was in full protective mode and Cloud almost felt sorry for the people that hurt Cissnei.

 

A female doctor went into the room and closed the door.  Cloud guessed that she was examining Cissnei for evidence of rape and he hoped she’d cooperate with a woman.  They heard a soft sob and the voice of the doctor trying to soothe Cissnei as she instructed her to relax.  Cloud looked from Reno to Zack and he imagined what the two of them would do to the people responsible for Cissnei’s condition if they got their hands on them.  He’d love to get his hands on them too, but he didn’t know Cissnei the way his lover and friend did.

 

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a female voice suddenly cried from behind him; “Did you see what they did to her?!” 

 

Cloud whirled with his heart in his throat; automatically reaching for a weapon he didn’t even have on him.  Elena had come up behind them in the hallway and Tifa was close behind.

 

“They’ll get theirs,” promised Cloud.

 

Tifa’s eyes went to the door where Cissnei’s soft moans of distress emitted.  “How is she?”

 

“The doctor’s looking at her now,” Cloud said.  He glanced at Reno, who looked about ready to explode.  “I guess we’ll find out how much was done when she’s finished.”

 

Elena noticed Zack and she stared, openmouthed. 

 

“Uh, hi,” Zack said, his feathers ruffling instinctively with discomfort.  “I’m Zack Fair.”

 

“E-Elena of the Turks,” the blonde woman returned, sticking a hand out automatically.  When he smiled and kissed it she blushed.  “So you’re that guy we found in the…uh…that life support tank, right?  I’ve heard a lot about you.”

 

“Yeah.  I kind of grew extra parts since then,” he informed ruefully, releasing her hand. 

 

There was another miserable moan from inside the room and Zack winced, looking over his shoulder.  Reno’s snarl deepened and Elena cringed.  They stood silently for a few minutes, waiting anxiously for the doctor to finish her examination. 

 

“We’re going after them, right?” Elena asked Reno.

 

“Hell yeah,” the redhead answered.  “As soon as I hear some news from the doc, I’m touching bases with Tseng to get this ball rolling.  Someone’s gonna bleed for Cissnei.”

 

The door opened after a couple more moments and the doctor came out.  She left the door open and spoke to them in a low, soft voice.  “It’s confirmed; there was penetration.”

 

Elena made a distressed sound and Tifa patted her back.  Reno’s eyes were flashing dangerously and his wiry body was tense all over.  “Did she give you any details?” asked the redhead stiffly.

 

“She’s still too traumatized to say much about it,” the doctor said gently, “but I did get enough information to conclude that she was…had…by three separate men.  She described them all as Mako enhanced.  I’ve done a rape kit on her and given her emergency contraceptives…though I doubt the latter is needed, due to the damage she suffered.”

 

Reno swore and bowed his head.  He knew personally how strong Mako enhancements made people and the thought of not just one but _three_ such people violating Cissnei’s petite form made bile rise in his throat. 

 

“How bad is it?” the redhead asked in a strained whisper.

 

“There’s a lot of bruising and some tearing,” answered the doctor, “along with some internal damage.  I don’t know what this young woman’s plans are for the future but I hope children weren’t part of them.”

 

“You mean she can’t…ever?” Elena asked huskily.

 

The doctor shook her head.  “I highly doubt it.  The soft tissue damage is too extensive and she may even require surgery.  She could be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life and the odds of her carrying a successful pregnancy to term are slim to none.  We have to watch over her carefully for hemorrhaging.”

 

Zack turned abruptly on his heel and stalked to the end of the hallway.

 

“Zack?” Cloud called, concerned.

 

The black-haired fighter suddenly punched the blameless wall, putting an impressive hole in it and burying his fist up to the mid-forearm.  The doctor looked as though she wanted to say something to him but she wisely held her tongue, shaking her head instead and regarding Reno.

 

“Cissnei can have one visitor at a time and I wouldn’t suggest any of them be equipped with male genitalia.  She’s incoherent right now and it may be some time before she can be around men without trauma.  Understand?”

 

Reno nodded reluctantly.  “Yeah, I get it.  Can’t blame the poor kid.  Okay Elena, you go in first.  She might be happy to see ya.”

 

Elena was looking at Zack thoughtfully.  He’d pulled his fist out of the wall and stood motionless, breathing heavily from his emotions.  “I don’t know if _all_ men would scare poor Cissnei,” she said with a meaningful nod at the ex Soldier.   

 

Reno followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes.  There was some merit in the blonde Turk’s observation and he was surprised she’d thought of it before he did.  Cissnei had been very fond of Zack…maybe she’d even loved him.  What she needed right now was some hope.  Seeing him back from the dead might be therapeutic for her.

 

“Zack, maybe you should go in and see her,” Reno suggested.

 

The doctor looked at him disapprovingly.  “What did I just tell you about male visitors?”

 

“Lady, this guy’s not a regular man,” Reno argued firmly.  “And if anybody can crack that shell of fear around her right now, it’s him.”

 

The doctor considered the man in question, taking in his sweeping white wings and handsome features.  “If you insist on this, don’t send him in when he’s this agitated.  Cissnei requires patience and calm right now.  Let him settle down first.”

 

“Roger,” agreed the redhead.  “Yo, Zack, did ya catch all that?”

 

“I heard,” responded Zack faintly.  He looked up at them and Cloud’s heart clenched at the misery in his eyes.  “I’ll cool off and go see her.  Maybe I should try to make these wings go away again first, though.  I don’t want to freak her out.  Oh and uh…sorry about the wall.”

 

“Keep the wings, man,” Reno suggested.  “If I know Cissnei, they won’t freak her out at all.  They might even cheer her up.  Don’t worry about the damn wall.”

 

~***************************~

* * *

 

Roughly twenty minutes later, Zack was walking hesitantly into Cissnei’s infirmary room.  His bare feet touched down on the linoleum floor with hardly a whisper, thanks to remembered SOLDIER training.  He bit his lip as he drew closer to the sleeping woman, ambiguous about waking her up.  She needed her rest and yet, she needed to see a friendly face too.

 

He stopped at the side of her bed and refrained from leaning over her, thinking that he shouldn’t crowd her.  “Cissnei?” he murmured, reaching out to gently stroke her hair.  Both of her eyes were blackened and for the first time, he noticed the bruises around her throat.  Someone had strangled her…possibly while they were raping her.  He drew his hand back and rubbed his eyes, his throat tightening with pity and anger.

 

She stirred restlessly and opened her eyes as much as she could.  Zack brought his emotions under control and forced a friendly smile onto his lips as she looked up at him.

 

“Hey, you.”  Zack whispered the greeting.  He couldn’t stop his feathers from ruffling with agitation but he kept his voice level and his expression light.

 

Cissnei peered at him and licked her cracked lips.  She blinked, possibly thinking that she was hallucinating.  “Za—ack?”  Her voice—like her body—was ravaged.  The inquiry came out as a bare, scratchy whisper.

 

“Surprise,” Zack murmured.  He reached out to stroke her hair again and she cringed.  He tactfully withdrew, opting not to move too quickly.

 

“You’re…really here?” Cissnei questioned as she tried to sit up.  He reached for the bedside remote and eased the top half up for her.  “I saw…you die!”

 

“Yeah, but I’m back now,” he said gently.  “It’s kind of a weird story.  I’ll explain later.  Right now you’re what matters.”

 

Cissnei’s soft brown eyes fixated on his wings and widened as much as the swelling would allow.  “You’re an…angel.  Am…I dead?”

 

Zack swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his head.  “No honey, you’re not dead and I’m not an angel.  I’ve got wings because I was given G-cells, like Angeal and Genesis.  It’s okay though.  I’m not deteriorating or anything.”

 

He noticed how she stared at the ivory feathers and he smiled at her.  “Do you want to touch ‘em?”

 

She swallowed and looked up at him uncertainly, reaching out with her good arm.  She held her petite hand out as if she couldn’t help herself.  “Can I?”

 

Zack nodded and extended one wing toward her, proud of himself for mastering a little muscle control over the appendages.  Her fingers touched the soft feathers hesitantly at first, then with more confidence.  She stroked them along the expanse she could reach, combing through the feathers gently.  He was a little surprised by the sensation the touch provided.  It felt…soothing.  He hadn’t expected the wings to be sensitive to touch.

 

“See?  It’s all real,” Zack said. 

 

Cissnei’s reaction wasn’t what he had in mind.  She withdrew her hand and covered her swollen eyes with it, sobbing softly.

 

“Hey, don’t do that, dollface,” Zack said softly. 

 

“Doll…face?” Cissnei repeated, peeking at him from between her fingers.  “Look at me!”

 

“I am,” he insisted with a sorrowful frown.  “The bruises and swelling are temporary, Cissnei.  As soon as they’ve gotten the tests run that they need, they’ll give you some potions or use a cure materia on you and you’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

 

She shook her head.  “N-no…I’m stained…for life!  If you’re really here and your wings are real then it really happened to me!  Don’t let it…be real, Zack!  Please, I don’t…want it to be real!”  Her voice was a desperate, ragged sob.

 

Zack tentatively reached out and put a gentle arm around her, at a loss for words.  Surprisingly, she only cringed a little but didn’t pull away.  “It’s okay,” he murmured, drawing her closer as he sat on the edge of her bed.  “It’s just me and you’re safe now.  I can’t take it away but I promise, the guys that did this to you are going to get what’s coming to them.”

 

“Th-they said it was a m-message,” Cissnei whimpered against his chest.

 

Zack glowered over her head, his jaw clenching.  “We’re going to send a little ‘message’ of our own, then.”

 

She kept crying softly, letting him stroke her back.  He wrapped his wings around her in a protective cocoon and held her until she exhausted herself and fell asleep in his arms.

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

“So we’re all in agreement?  This matter is to be dealt with swiftly and without mercy,” Tseng looked at each of the assembled Turks, his black eyes hard as flint.

 

Rude’s answer was to draw his gun, click the safety off and nod.  Reno and Gun both voiced their accordance passionately, while Rod, Elena and Dorian nodded with enthusiasm.  There were other Turks assembled in the office as well but they didn’t have a personal connection with the stricken woman that prompted this meeting.

 

“So when are we sending the strike teams out, yo?” Reno asked eagerly.

 

“In two day’s time,” Tseng answered.  “Any sooner than that and we risk going ill-prepared.  I want this to be a clean sweep and I’m coming along to personally ensure that it will be.”

 

The office door burst open, the lock broken by the force of a blow for the other side.  The Turks turned and readied their various weapons as one, prepared to fire on the invader even as they stared with amazement.  Zack Fair stalked into the room, his wings practically touching the floor behind him and his eyes alight with fury.

 

“Hold up,” Reno ordered, and Tseng added his command as well.

 

“Zackary, it was very foolish for you to burst in here like this,” Tseng said calmly as the former Soldier approached.  “I can only assume you have good reason.  I also expect you to work off the cost of that lock you just broke.”

 

The Turks parted warily as Zack strode to their leader’s desk and leaned over it, placing his hands flat on the surface.  “I want in.”

 

Tseng’s black eyebrows rose elegantly.  “This is a Turk matter,” he informed politely.

 

“Bullshit,” Zack snarled.  “This goes further than the Turks and you know it.  A fight’s been brewing for a long time and your organization can’t handle it alone.  I want in on this strike.  Those bastards are going to pay and I want to be one of the people that makes them.”

 

Tseng exchanged a look with Reno and the two of them considered the angry fighter carefully. 

 

Zack gave them both a sharp, lupine grin.  “You know things would go faster with me on your team,” he tempted.

 

Tseng gave a barely perceptible nod and Reno smirked at Zack.  “Okay Fair.  You’re in.  What does Cloud have to say about this?”

 

“He wants in too but he’s not as stubborn as I am,” Zack said with a shrug.  “As a matter of fact, I’d better get back to him and show him I’m not full of bullet holes again.”  With that said, he straightened up, turned around and strode back out of the office, leaving the Turks staring in his wake.

 

“Well, that was…abrupt,” Tseng murmured.  He decided that now would be a good time to inform the President of the assault plans.  The Turks were Tseng’s jurisdiction but he still exchanged information with Rufus and it wouldn’t surprise him if his lover decided to add some of his own militia to the strike teams.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“Hey Chocobo.  See?  I didn’t get shot.”  Zack turned in a circle before Cloud, standing outside the door of his suite.  The blonde had his arms crossed over his chest and his expression of annoyance didn’t fade.

 

“Next time, let me talk to Tseng or Rufus first,” Cloud muttered.  “Between trying to inhale your hamburger and barging into a room full of armed and trained Turks, I’d almost think you’re trying to get a one-way ticket back to the Lifestream.” 

 

Just as he finished speaking, one of Zack’s wings inadvertently smacked him in the face and he sputtered and pushed it away.  “Cut it out,” Cloud complained with a little chuckle he couldn’t hide, “I’m convinced you didn’t get shot, okay?”

 

Zack grinned and stopped turning in place.  “So where are the kids?  It’s still the weekend, right?  Shouldn’t they be around causing trouble?”

 

“Tifa took them to the movies and the arcade,” Cloud said.  “They needed to get out and she was pretty upset about Cissnei too.”  He sighed and stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him.  “So what are we going to do about your wings?  I hate to say it but you’re out of practice with combat and you’ve never flown before.”

 

“Guess I’m going to have to learn pretty fast then,” Zack shrugged.  “Give me a minute and I’ll change into something a little less comfortable.  I guess I could jump off the roof.  After I get the hang of that you and I can duel a little in the sparring gym.”

 

Cloud stared at him.  “J-jump off the roof?  Zack, what’s with the suicide fixation?!  This building’s over thirty stories tall!”

 

“I’ve got _wings_ , featherhead,” the black-haired fighter reminded him.  “I’m not going to go ‘splat’ even if I can’t figure out how to steer right away.  Hell, I could just drift down and use my wings as a parachute the first few times.”

 

“You’re crazy, do you know that?”

 

Zack laughed softly and brushed a stray lock of blonde hair out of his friend’s eyes.  Cloud was so cute when he was worried.  “But in a _good_ way, right?  Besides, I’ve heard about some of the wild stunts you’ve pulled.  Does the fight with Bahamut ring a bell?  How about your last fight with Sephiroth?  You guys were fighting all over skyscraper rooftops, right?”

 

Cloud mumbled something that Zack couldn’t quite make out.

 

_~I know, kid.  It’s different because it’s me.  I’d probably feel the same way if it were you in my place.~_

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

A few minutes later, Zack was dressed in a pair of jeans and sneakers.  He was still bare-chested because he obviously couldn’t fit a shirt on without cutting gaping holes in the back for his wings, but it was springtime so the temperature outside was nice.  He and Cloud got onto the elevator and the blonde pushed the button for the very top floor.

 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather try from a balcony on a lower floor first?” Cloud asked softly as the doors closed and the elevator began its ascent.

 

“Nah, I’ve got to do it like a band-aid.  Yank it off fast and get it over with, you know?”  Zack was tapping his foot, hinting that he was a little nervous about his idea too.

 

Cloud was about to try further discouragement, honestly scared for Zack’s safety.  His cellphone rang before he could open his mouth and he dug it out of his pants with a sigh.  He’d been letting his message service get calls that he didn’t recognize because he wasn’t in a position now to make deliveries.  He recognized Reno’s number and he answered it.

 

“Hey Cloud,” the redhead said when he answered, “Have ya talked to your boy Zack yet about the strike?”

 

“Yeah, we’re both in,” Cloud answered.  “I’m going to start calling my friends too.  They won’t make it in time to join the strike but I’ve got a feeling things are going to get hairy before long.”

 

“You sure they’d come and help?” Reno questioned dubiously.

 

“They’ve teamed up with the WRO before against Deepground,” reminded the blonde.  “They’ll do it again if it comes to it.  I’d rather have them aware of the situation in case we need them.”

 

“Guess it couldn’t hurt anything,” Reno conceded.  “So what are you up to now?”

 

“I’m about to watch Zack jump off the roof.”

 

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.  “Seriously?” Reno finally asked.

 

“Yeah,” Cloud said, smirking as Zack overheard and winked at him.  “We’re in the elevator now.  He thinks being extreme about it is the best way to learn how to use his wings.  I don’t agree but he’s as bullheaded as you are.”

 

“Damn, I’ve gotta see this,” Reno announced.  “I’m coming up to meet you.”

 

“Sure, why not?” Cloud said crossly.  “Let’s both watch my best friend turn himself into roadkill.”

 

“I’m not going to be roadkill, Cloud,” Zack said with a smirk.  “Have a little faith, will you?”

 

“You’ve _never flown_ before!” snapped the blonde.

 

“Neither did Angeal, Genesis or Sephiroth before they got their wings but that didn’t stop them, did it?”  Zack’s amethyst eyes were level and confident on him.

 

“Boy, sounds like you two lovebirds are really getting into it,” Reno observed with a faint snicker.

 

Cloud flushed.  “We’re not…oh, forget it.  See you on the roof.”  Without waiting for a reply, he hung up and replaced the phone in his pocket.  “I don’t suppose there’s any chance of me talking you out of this before we reach the top,” he said to Zack.

 

“No, but I appreciate the effort,” Zack said with a smile.  “Lighten up, Cloud.  I’ll be fine.”

 

The blonde grumbled under his breath and sighed, leaning back against the wall and staring up at the flashing numbers over the door.  Zack studied him, admiring his profile.  He thought about what had happened to Cissnei and he realized that there really were no guarantees in life.  He could very well kill himself in his efforts to use his wings for the first time and a thought occurred to him. 

 

_~Maybe Cloud’s not ready but this could be my last chance to give it a shot.  I never got the chance to act on it before and I know I’ll regret it if I don’t at least try it once while I’ve got a body to do it with.~_

The more he thought about it, the more worthwhile the risk seemed.  He kept looking from the digital numbers overhead to Cloud, realizing he was running out of time.  Cloud noticed that he kept looking at him and the blonde glanced at him sidelong, with a quizzical expression on his fair features.

 

“What’s the matter?” Cloud asked.

 

Zack hesitated a moment longer, wondering how his friend would react to what he was thinking of doing.  “What the hell,” he finally said.  He reached out and pushed the stop button, making the elevator halt its ascent.  A warning bell rang but he ignored it and stepped into Cloud’s personal space, grinning at him as the blonde stared up at him with confusion.

 

“Zack, what the hell—mph!”  Cloud’s inquiry was abruptly muffled as the dark-haired fighter’s mouth covered his. 

 

He went utterly still with shock for a moment and then what was happening registered in his brain.  Zack’s mouth moved against his with confident skill, the lips soft and firm at once.  Cloud’s mouth parted and the other man’s tongue slid in with tender care, stroking against his coaxingly and seductively.  It was everything he’d ever imagined it would be, though he’d never entertained the hope that it would happen because he’d been so thoroughly convinced that Zack was only into women. 

 

A low moan rose in Cloud’s throat before he could stop it and he put his hands flat against his companion’s smooth chest, feeling the warmth of his skin, the hardness of his muscles and the heavy thump of his heart.

 

It ended far too soon.  Zack pulled away after a moment, leaving Cloud breathless and weak-kneed.  He looked into his eyes and his breath was slightly labored.  “Just in case I _do_ go ‘splat’,” he murmured with a mischievous grin.  He reached out and pushed the stop button again, making the elevator lurch to motion once more.

 

“Wh…why,” Cloud began, his words clumsy.  He swallowed and tried again.  “Why did you do that?”

 

Zack shrugged and gave him an apologetic look.  “I just wanted to see what it was like while I had the chance.”

 

“And?” Cloud prompted, a blush suffusing his cheeks.  “How was it?”

 

“Awesome,” Zack answered sincerely.  “Uh, I’m sorry I didn’t ask first.”

 

“Why didn’t you ever do that before?” demanded the blonde, ignoring the apology.

 

Zack was pleasantly surprised and his smile grew with his confidence.  “Well, first you were jailbait, then you were catatonic, and after that I croaked.  I never got the chance, man.”

 

Cloud’s pulse was racing and his body felt hot.  He glanced up at the numbers overhead and saw that they had only five floors left before they reached their stop.  He didn’t give himself time to think.  He hit the stop button again and cupped the back of Zack’s head, drawing him back to his mouth demandingly.

 

It was Zack’s turn to be stunned.  He knew Cloud had to have a passionate side to be involved with Reno, but he had no idea that he could be so assertive.  The blonde’s mouth was hot and eager against his and Zack put his arms around his waist and returned the kiss with feeling.  Their teeth scraped together in their fervor, their tongues caressed and their breath quickened.

 

“Zack,” Cloud murmured between kisses, just to speak his name.  Zack’s body pressed firmly against his and he could feel the other man’s arousal pressing against his hip, leaving no doubt that this wasn’t just acting on a moment of random curiosity.  The force of his own desire overwhelmed Cloud.  It was like Zack had opened a floodgate when he kissed him and now it couldn’t be easily staunched.

 

“If we keep this up we’re not going to make it to the top floor,” Zack warned against Cloud’s lips.

 

“Just a little longer,” insisted Cloud.  Zack’s tongue thrust back into his mouth obligingly, with greater aggression than before.  The blonde gasped as his friend pinned him harder against the wall and pressed a thigh between his legs, rubbing against his stiffened groin.  At this point, Cloud didn’t care if he ended up on his hands and knees with his pants down around his ankles.  Actually, the thought of that happening only made him hotter and he groaned into Zack’s mouth and rubbed back, letting the friction against his crotch drive him into a frenzy of lust.

 

It was funny how one kiss from Zack could make him immediately want to bottom for him.  Usually it took some coaxing or even trickery for Cloud to agree to such a position.  He imagined those great, white wings curving over him as Zack took him and he impulsively reached between his friend’s legs and copped a feel, wondering what he’d be in for if the fantasy came true.

 

“Whoa,” Zack groaned, pausing in his kissing as the blonde’s hand groped him.  “Easy there, sexy thing…there’s a limit to my control!”

 

“Whoa, yourself,” Cloud gasped, squeezing the impressive length he felt under his hand.  “Shit, you should be proud.”

 

Zack laughed huskily and closed his eyes, briefly enjoying the pleasure of Cloud’s hand massaging his hard on through the jeans.  “Cloud, come on man…I want it to be something special if it happens,” he said seriously, reaching down to disengage the blonde’s hand from his crotch. 

 

“Oh, it’s going to happen,” Cloud stated.  There was no way it wasn’t as far as he was concerned, now that he knew Zack wanted him.

 

“Yeah?” Zack smiled, his breath catching softly as Cloud’s touch made him throb with need.  “Well, I don’t want it happening in an elevator.  It’s too important to me, Goldie.”

 

Cloud came to his senses, realizing he felt the same way.  This was Zack and while a quick, spontaneous screw might sound great, he didn’t want to cheapen the moment like that.  He stopped fondling the other man with a sigh, blushing furiously at his own behavior.  He felt selfish and a little sullied.

 

“I’m sorry,” Cloud mumbled as he averted his eyes.  “I didn’t expect it to hit me like that.  Didn’t expect you to ever kiss me at all and once you did, I just kind of lost it.  Now’s really not the time for me to be jumping your bones anyhow.”

 

Zack chuckled and nuzzled his flushed cheek.  “Hey, I’m glad it hit you like that.  I don’t have to worry anymore about whether you’d go for me or not.  Just one thing though…are you sure this isn’t going to cause problems with Reno?  You said you’re in an open relationship with him but you never gave me all the dirty details.”

 

“I’m pretty sure he’ll be fine with it,” Cloud said with as much confidence as he could.  “I think he half expects it to happen anyway.  He saw it coming way before I did and I kept telling him you weren’t into guys.  Guess I really only fooled myself.”

 

Zack thought of the sexy, sly redhead and he nodded.  Of course Reno saw it coming…the possessive behavior he’d been displaying in front of Zack said it all and he’d tried to tell Cloud so.  The thing that bothered him was that if Reno were really okay with it, why would he feel threatened? 

 

“I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we reach it,” Zack murmured.  He pulled away from Cloud slowly, shifting uncomfortably at the tightness in his groin.  “Uh, want to give it a couple of minutes before we start this elevator back up?”

 

Cloud glanced down at his own prominent bulge and nodded with agreement. 

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

“Hmm, the left elevator’s stuck,” Reeve announced with a little frown. 

 

Reno stood next to him, also waiting on the right elevator.  The redhead looked up at the number over the left elevator and saw that it was stuck on the thirtieth floor.  Cloud and Zack were probably in it, too.

 

“Yeah, stuck,” Reno said facetiously.  “I’ll just bet it is.”

 

_~I’ll also bet Blondie and Wolfy are getting it on as we speak.~_

The thought didn’t bother him as much as he expected it too, mainly because of the little talk he’d had with Rufus the other night.  If the boss could suck it up and cope, so could he.  The question was, would Cloud come out and tell him or was he going to have to catch them in the act?  If he did come clean with him, did Reno have a chance of joining in the fun eventually?  He couldn’t tell whether Zack found him attractive or not…which was ironic because Reno could usually spot an interested party from thirty paces away.

 

_~Stop worrying about it right now, asshole.  There’s more important shit going down.~_

Just as Reno finished mentally lecturing himself, the left elevator moved again.  If Strife and Fair _had_ gotten it on in there it was one of the quickest fucks on record.  He chuckled to himself, unable to imagine two Mako enhanced guys only lasting for a couple of minutes.  He relaxed as the elevator he and Reeve were waiting on arrived at their floor and opened.

 

~All right, so maybe I’m a little more like the boss than I realized.  I really don’t mind my baby getting together with Fair, just so he doesn’t make the same mistake I did with Rufus and try to hide it from me.~

 

 His mind went to poor Cissnei as he stepped into the elevator with Reeve and his mood darkened again.  He remembered the night of Meteorfall, and how she’d hesitantly tried to get him in bed so that she wouldn’t die a virgin.  Being the flamer that he was, he’d refused…but honestly if he were into girls she’d be the one he’d probably go after. 

 

_~Dammit, I hope she’s had at least one good experience before this happened.  It’s gonna be hard enough for that girl to recover from this but if she was still a virgin when they did that to her…motherfucking bastards!~_

“You okay?” Reeve asked as he and the Turk selected their floors and the doors closed.

 

“No man, I’m not okay,” Reno answered with a sigh.  “One of our best agents and one of the sweetest girls I know had her life ruined in one fucking day.”

 

Reeve bowed his head and nodded.  “It’s terrible, I know.  All we can do now is support her and try to bring the culprits to justice.”

 

Reno nodded and pressed his lips together, choosing not to elaborate on what his particular idea of “justice” was.  Reeve was a gentleman and though he wasn’t ignorant of the dark dealings that the Turks committed on occasion, Reno knew he didn’t like to speak of it or think about it.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	8. Chapter 8

“Alliance”

Chapter 8

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

 

The sun was beginning to set and Zack stood on the edge of the roof and took a deep breath, squinting against the orange light.  He was sure he looked romantic and dramatic, standing there with his big white wings spread out on either side of him and his black hair blowing around his face.  In truth, he felt like he was about to piss his pants.  He peered over the side of the building and hastily took a step back when vertigo swiftly struck him.

 

“You okay man?” Reno asked from behind and to the left.  He was standing beside Cloud, waiting for the black-haired fighter to take his first flight.

 

“Fine,” Zack answered glibly, shooting a wild grin over his shoulder at the two men.  “Just getting a feel for the wind speed.”  He took another deep breath and blew it out slowly.

 

_~Come on, you can do this.  You’ve jumped out of hovering choppers before…you’ve fought on cliffsides…you’ve taken down half an army.~_

“Okay,” Zack said, taking another couple of steps backwards to prepare for a running leap.  “Here I go.” 

 

He didn’t move.  Reno and Cloud exchanged a look and the Turk cleared his throat.

 

“I’m going,” Zack said stubbornly, narrowing his eyes and pursing his lips.  He took a lurching step forward and stopped abruptly, cursing himself softly.  He turned around and looked at his two companions, painting a confident expression on his face.

 

“You know, I think I should stretch a little…loosen up first.”

 

Reno nodded condescendingly and smirked at him in a knowing way.  “If it helps, yo.”  Beside him, Cloud just looked worried.

 

Zack arched his back and reached his arms over his head, making a great show of stretching.  He was so nervous that he wasn’t even aware of how nicely he was displaying his chest and stomach muscles to his companions and he didn’t notice that both of them were staring at him.

 

Cloud caught himself ogling and he glanced at Reno guiltily, wondering if the redhead noticed.  He did a double-take when he saw that the Turk’s sea-green eyes were caressing Zack’s body as boldly as his own had been.  Cloud nudged his lover and frowned meaningfully at him, jerking his chin at Zack and shaking his head.

 

Reno shrugged and smirked.  “Like you weren’t just eye-fucking the hell outta him a minute ago,” the redhead whispered smugly.

 

Cloud predictably flushed with embarrassment and bit his lip.  “Okay fine,” Cloud whispered as softly as he could, “so you were right.  Now cut it out!”

 

Reno chuckled and stopped leering at Zack; not because Cloud told him to but because the black-haired fighter had finished stretching and glanced over at them. 

 

“What are you two whispering about?” Zack inquired.  “Are you making bets on whether I splatter or something?”  He started doing some squats, grunting softly with each one.

 

“Nah, we’re just discussing…motivation,” Reno answered with a sharp look at Cloud.  He reached behind and pinched the blonde’s bottom without shame, making him jump.  “Seems the right encouragement is all people really need to get things started, yo.”

 

Zack stopped doing his squats and regarded the redhead curiously.

 

_~What’s this guy hinting at?  It seems like there’s always a double-meaning to everything he does.~_

Reno approached the edge of the roof and put one foot on the trimming, leaning forward a little to look down.  He gave a low whistle and glanced over his shoulder at Zack.  “That’s a long drop, man.  But hey, you’ve got wings so there’s nothing to worry about, right?”

 

“Reno, you’re a little too close—“ Cloud warned, nervous about the off-balance way his lover was standing.

 

Reno leaned further over, ignoring the blonde’s warning.  “Maybe it just doesn’t bother me because I’m used to heights,” he said conversationally.  He stood up on the trimming with both feet, the toes of his oxford shoes hanging over a deadly drop.

 

“Okay, you’ve shown off enough,” Cloud said nervously, starting toward him.

 

Reno turned to tell the fighter to relax but a strong gust of wind swept the rooftop and he lost his balance.  He fell over the side and a long stream of curses followed in his wake.

 

“RENO!!” Cloud yelled, charging for the edge of the roof.

 

“Aw, man!” Zack exclaimed.  Now he didn’t have a choice.  He ran and leapt off, instinctively tucking his wings in as he dove like a falcon for the falling Turk. 

 

Reno was falling with his back facing the ground and he stared up at Zack with a look of terror that wasn’t feigned in the least.  The black-haired fighter straightened his body out as much as he could to increase his momentum and the Turk’s sprawled position was helping to slow his descent enough to give him a chance to catch up with him.  Zack reached out with both hands as he closed the distance and he caught Reno around the waist.  The redhead wrapped his arms around Zack’s neck and clung to him tightly.

 

“OOH SHIIIT!!”

 

Zack couldn’t tell whether the hollered curse came from his mouth or Reno’s.  They were both yelling at the top of their lungs and when he snapped his wings out to catch the wind he nearly dropped the lean Turk he was trying to save.  They were now gliding at an angle but their momentum was still fast enough that hitting the ground could prove fatal…at least for Reno.

 

“Flap your fucking wings, man!” Reno hollered over the rush of air.

 

“Oh yeah,” Zack gulped.  He did so and they wobbled for a moment while he fought to slow their descent and gain some control over their trajectory.  There were shouts of alarm and amazement from the streets below but Zack was too busy trying to keep from killing himself and his passenger to pay attention.

 

He spotted a grassy park up ahead and he aimed for it, hoping that the vegetation and soil might soften their landing.  Reno had his legs locked around his waist now, clinging to him like a possum.  Despite his earlier bravado concerning heights, the Turk had his face buried against Zack’s neck and the former Soldier found it and the tight hold Reno had on him inappropriately distracting.

 

“I think we’ll be okay,” Zack hollered as he slowed his speed further and began to understand how the angle of his wing position affected his flight.  “It’ll be a little rough but we’ll make it.”  He tilted his wings up a little and they climbed a bit in altitude, but their forward momentum slowed even more and he was able to clumsily hover and drift down to the earth below.  His feet hit the ground hard enough to make his legs buckle and the impact sent Reno rolling away in the grass, but as first landings went he thought it was pretty good.  He fell to his hands and knees and groaned with relief.

 

“Hey Red, you okay?” Zack said breathlessly as he shook his head to clear it and peered through disheveled black bangs at the nearby Turk.

 

Reno was on his back, panting and staring up at the sky.  He turned his head and looked at Zack with relieved tourmaline eyes.  “Yeah, I’m okay.  Nice save, hotshot.  Knew ya could do it.”

 

Zack realized what had actually happened and he scowled at Reno.  “Hey, you set me up, didn’t you?”

 

Reno clapped his hands together with slow exaggeration, applauding Zack sarcastically.  “Ten points to the hero…he’s more than just a pretty face.”

 

Zack crawled over to the Turk, straddling over him on hands and knees and glaring down at him with angry, blue-violet eyes.  “You could have gotten yourself killed, you crazy rooster!”

 

“Yeah,” admitted Reno breathlessly, staring unwaveringly up at the black-haired man.  “But I didn’t.  You flew, didn’t ya?”

 

“I wouldn’t call what we just did ‘flying’,” Zack snarled.  “Did you see Cloud’s face when you took that dive?  Did you even think of what you’d be putting him through with a stunt like that?”

 

Reno’s expression sobered and a hint of shame found its way onto his pale, angular face.  “Didn’t really consider that, yo,” he sighed.  He turned his head and looked in the direction they had glided from, wondering if his blonde lover was having a conniption on top of the building.

 

Zack’s eyes locked on the smooth stretch of neck that Reno bared and they traveled from there to the appealing clavicle and the portion of lean chest exposed under the open V in the redhead’s shirt.  He had to appreciate Cloud’s taste in lovers…Reno was certainly a sexy little beast, even if he _was_ a pain in the ass.  The Turk’s long ponytail was lying halfway across his left arm, which was flung out lazily in the grass.  Zack took a moment to marvel at the vivid color of it and he realized where his thoughts were taking him as his eyes went back to that appealing throat and chest.

 

Reno turned his head and looked back up at him again, his sensitive lips quirking into a sensual smirk.  “You’re pretty forceful when you’re pissed, Fair.”

 

“We should get back and show Cloud we’re both in one piece, before he has a meltdown,” Zack suggested gruffly, levering his body off of the too-attractive Turk.  He stood up with a grunt and extended his hand to Reno as his wings folded closer to his back. 

 

_~So much for my concerns about Reno getting pissed about Cloud and I.  If there’s one thing I know it’s flirting and if that wasn’t a line he just gave me, I’ll eat my shoes.  Hmph…wonder how this is all going to pan out?~_

Reno took Zack’s offered hand and allowed the larger man to help him to his feet.  The redhead staggered on shaky legs and Zack caught him around the waist and his expression softened to reluctant concern.

 

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Zack inquired.

 

Reno brushed some grass out of his hair and nodded.  “Promise.  I guess I’m just a little more shaken up than I thought, Wolfy.”

 

Zack couldn’t help but smile a little.  He had a feeling he and Reno were going to have a little unspoken competition with one another over creative nicknames.  “’Wolfy’, huh?”

 

“Hey, you called me a rooster,” the Turk shrugged. 

 

“I guess I did,” Zack chuckled.  “You don’t actually remind me of one though.”

 

“What bird would ya associate me with if you were going to?” Reno asked lightly as they started back towards Headquarters.  People were staring, some following them and taking pictures.  Both men ignored the audience.

 

“Hmm, I guess a phoenix,” Zack said.  “You’re not really like a bird though.  More like a…a…”

 

“Fox?” Reno grinned at him.

 

Zack snapped his fingers.  “That’s it!  You’re definitely a fox.”

 

Reno could have taken that comment and ran with it but he held back, biting his lip to control the urge.  “Hey Zack, can we not tell Cloud that I did that on purpose?”

 

Zack stopped walking and looked at him with disapproval, though his supporting hold on him didn’t loosen. 

 

“It’s just, I didn’t think it through,” Reno explained with a grimace.  “It just came to me all the sudden and I didn’t even think about how much it might scare him, yo.”

 

“I’m not crazy about keeping secrets from him, but since you were just trying to help I think this one time I can let it slide,” the raven fighter agreed solemnly.  “I’ve got to ask you about something, though.”

 

Reno glared at some of the onlookers, warning them with his eyes to back off and mind their own business.  “Yeah?  What’s that?” His known status as a Turk and his icy glare fortunately chased a few busybodies off, affording a little more privacy.

 

Zack looked him in the eye.  “I’m pretty sure you know how I feel about Cloud.”

 

Reno knew it was a bad time to play games, so he nodded.  “Yeah, I figured that out right away.”

 

“He told me that you two are in an open relationship,” Zack went on.  “So you don’t just stick with each other, right?”

 

“Nah, but we do have a little select group,” explained the redhead.  “Cloud’s only been with me and Rufus, though.”

 

Zack blinked.  “Rufus…as in Rufus Shinra?”

 

Reno chuckled.  “That’s right.  I guess he didn’t tell you that, huh?”

 

“He didn’t give me details about his other partners.  He told me about yours but he got awkward and embarrassed when he I asked him who he slept with besides you.”

 

“He was probably afraid you’d have a problem with it,” Reno guessed. 

 

“Why?” Zack wondered with sincere interest.  “I mean, if the old president was still around and Cloud was sleeping with HIM, I’d have to wonder about his sanity but Rufus is a different story.  I know about the changes he’s been making and he’s a good-looking dude.”

 

“I dunno, maybe he didn’t think you’d be so understanding about it,” Reno said.  “The boss still has a lot of enemies and it took a long time for Strife to start trusting him.  I guess he figures you and his other friends wouldn’t get it.”

 

Reno studied the other man seriously for a moment.  “Ya know Zack, you’re a pretty mellow guy.  I haven’t heard you say a judgmental thing about anyone except those bastards that hurt Cissnei.”

 

Zack shrugged.  “I guess I’m not a fan of grudges.  So anyway, back to Cloud.  Since you’re in an open relationship I want…uh…okay, this is awkward…I figured I should ask you just to be sure and now’s not really the time to be trying to work something like this out, but…um…”

 

Reno blurted a laugh.  “Oh man…are you trying to ask me for permission to date Blondie?”

 

Zack scratched his head and shrugged.  “Well, sort of.  You two have been together for a while and let’s face it, you’ve been acting pretty possessive around me.”

 

“Noticed that, did ya?” Reno sighed.  “Look, I’ll level with you.  I’m afraid if he gets with you he won’t want me anymore.”

 

Zack looked him up and down and frowned, shaking his head.  “I don’t see _that_ happening.”

 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence but it goes deeper than just looks, Fair.”  Reno tilted his head and looked at Zack with open admiration for a moment.  “You’re a _hero_.  I’m a _Turk_.  Get it?”

 

It started to sink in, but Zack still shook his head.  “Like I told Cloud, it’s not all black and white.  He sees something in you that’s got nothing to do with what you do for a living and everything to do with who you are.  What he sees in you isn’t going to go away because of me, Reno.”

 

“That last part sounded a lot like what the boss said to me,” Reno murmured.  “Okay Zack…go for it.  Just don’t try to keep him all to yourself, man.  I’m willing to share but I’m not willing to let him go, understand?”

 

“Got it,” Zack replied with a nod.

 

They were just crossing the street to the Headquarters building when Cloud came running out the front doors.  He looked like he was desperately out of breath but when he saw them approaching he found hidden reserves of strength and he sped up.

 

“Whoa, easy there, Chocobo!” Zack caught the blonde by the arm as he reached them and staggered. 

 

“Ran,” Cloud panted, dragging in great gulps of air as he pointed up, “From top…floor!  Elevators…too slow!  Had to…take…stairs!”  His wide blue eyes examined both of them rapidly, searching for signs of injury.  “Both…okay?”

 

“We’re fine, baby,” Reno said, torn between amusement and concern.  “Wolfy got us down safe.  Shit, you took the _stairs_?”

 

Cloud nodded convulsively and bent over, placing his hands on his knees as he fought for breath.  “Scared… _shit_ out of…me!  Soon as…stop seeing black spots…I’m kicking…ass!”

 

“Okay, we’ve got a pretty big audience out here and you look like you’re about to pass out,” Zack chuckled.  He turned around and spread his wings a little, crouching in front of Cloud.  “Piggy-back, Cloud.  I’ll get you inside and up to your room, okay?”

 

“What about…training?” Cloud rasped as he climbed onto Zack’s back and let the other man carry him.  He coughed as he almost inhaled a feather and he shifted so that he was sitting in a better position between the broad wings.

 

Zack felt the smaller man’s body trembling against his and he shook his head.  “I don’t think you could take on a housefly right now, Cloudy.  You just let us get you to bed so you can rest and I’ll train without you tonight, okay?”

 

The poor, exhausted blonde didn’t have the breath or strength to argue.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“You two look like a pair of cats watching a plump, juicy bird,” Reno snickered as he came up behind Elena and Vivian. 

 

Both Turk women were watching Zack training through the gym window with a fixation that was almost lewd.  They were both so absorbed in watching that they hadn’t heard Reno approach and they both jumped a little.  He smirked as the two women looked at him with guilty expressions, like schoolgirls caught with dirty magazines.

 

Reno looked over Elena’s shoulder and realized she had double the reason to stare.  Tseng was in the gym with Zack, sparring with him.  The Wutaian was handy with swords himself and it seemed that he’d offered to take Cloud’s place for the night.  Both men were shirtless and glistening with sweat.

 

~Guess I can’t blame Elena for enjoying a little eye candy even if she’ll never get down Tseng’s pants.~

“A girl’s got to shop sometimes,” Elena said boldly, shrugging at him despite her blushing face. 

 

 “Even if it’s just window-shopping,” Vivian added with a sigh, her blue eyes turning away from Reno to peer at Zack again through the window.

 

Reno chuckled.  “Can’t argue with that.  Do they know you’re both here perving on ‘em though?”

 

“We aren’t ‘perving’,” Elena insisted with a scowl.  “We’re just…watching.  Do you perve on wrestling matches?”

 

“Sometimes,” admitted the redhead with a waggle of his eyebrows.  He stepped up beside the blonde and watched with them.  Zack was doing fairly well but his wings were hindering him, keeping him from performing the moves that his body was most familiar with.  Tseng was patient and encouraging, reminding him to compensate and change his techniques.

 

After a while, Reno decided to walk through the doors and join them, if only to give Zack a little moral support.  He could tell that the black-haired fighter was getting frustrated and handicapped or not, he could do some serious damage to Tseng if his temper got the better of him.

 

“How’s it going?” Reno asked as he walked in.

 

“Could be worse,” Zack grunted as he rolled away from one of Tseng’s swings.  “It could also be a lot better, if these damned wings would just go away for a little while!”  He made a visible effort of concentration and Reno’s eyebrows shot up as the objects of Zack’s frustrations shrank and vanished into his back.

 

“Yo, they’re gone now, Wolfy,” Reno pointed out as he circled around behind the fighter to examine his back.  The skin was smooth, with no sign of scars to mark where the appendages had grown. 

 

Zack turned his head left and right as he reached over his shoulder with one hand to pat the skin searchingly.  “I really did it,” he said in a relieved voice.  “I got them to go away!”

 

“What did you do?” Tseng inquired curiously.

 

“I just flexed something in my shoulders and really, really wished they’d go back in,” Zack answered with an amazed frown.  “It’s a little hard to explain.  It felt a little like clenching a fist or something but it didn’t use muscle groups I’m used to having.”

 

“Can you make ‘em come back again?” Reno asked.

 

“Ooh, I don’t know,” Zack said with a little cringe.  “It took me long enough to figure out how to put the damn things away.”

 

“Well, they’re part of you now, so ya might as well work on controlling ‘em,” suggested Reno.  “Just give it a try, man.  You know what made them go back in so you probably won’t get stuck with ‘em again.”

 

Zack looked uncertainly at Tseng, who nodded in agreement with Reno.  “You have power at your disposal, Zackary.  If you don’t learn how to control it, all it will ever be is a hindrance for you.”

 

Zack groaned.  “Damn you and your Wutaian philosophy.”

 

Tseng smiled quietly at him and waited patiently.

 

“Okay, here goes,” the black-haired fighter muttered.  He closed his eyes and concentrated on _opening_ the imaginary fist this time, imagining the feel of the adrenaline rush he’d gotten when the wings burst free for the first time.

 

At first nothing happened and Zack heaved a sigh and tried again.  He gasped at the familiar popping sensation in his shoulder blades and Reno swore softly and took a hasty step back as the wings again emerged from the ex-Soldier’s back and spread wide. 

 

“I think I’m getting it,” Zack murmured, his brow creased with concentration.  He began to sweat harder as he made the wings retreat again, only to push them back out.

 

Reno stared with wide eyes at the spectacle of Zack’s wings growing and shrinking in and out of his back.  After a couple of minutes Zack began to tire and sink to his knees and the manifestation and de-manifestation of the appendages started making Reno strangely turned on.

 

_~Must be the whole in-out-in-out thing that’s doing it to me…fuck I’m a pervert.~_

“I think you should stop now, Zackary,” Tseng suggested in a polite, yet firm tone.  “You’re really exerting yourself and it seems to be paining you.”

 

Zack did stop and he panted softly, kneeling down on the floor as he drew the wings back into his body one last time.  “Now _that_ was a workout,” he gasped when he finished.

 

“You certainly are a determined one,” Tseng observed. 

 

Zack nodded in agreement.  “Bullheaded…that’s what my mother always said.”

 

“In situations like these, that isn’t a bad thing,” Tseng answered.  “Now if you’ll both excuse me, it’s close to midnight and I’d like to check on Cissnei before I retire.  Goodnight.”

 

“’Night Tseng,” Zack said.  “Thanks for the workout.”

 

“Later, boss,” Reno added.

 

Zack tried to stand up and he stumbled, weak from the effort he’d expended.

 

“Here,” Reno said, putting an arm around Zack’s waist and helping him to his feet.  He reached into his blazer and searched for a specific keyring.  “Why don’t you have a shower and take this when you’re finished?”

 

Zack looked at the keyring that the Turk had pressed into his palm.  It only had one key on it.  “What’s this go to?”

 

“Cloud’s room,” Reno whispered with a grin.  “Like I said, go for it.”

 

Zack looked at the key and then at Reno.  “I’m not sure it’s a good time for me to ‘go for it’ yet.”

 

“Huh?  Why not?  What was the point of that little talk we had earlier and why’d I spend twenty minutes telling Cloud I’m cool with the two of you, then?”  He peered suspiciously at the raven-haired man and he caught a very faint blush on Zack’s cheeks.  If the man had a tan at all he doubted he’d have seen the slight change in pigment.

 

“What are you afraid of, Fair?” demanded Reno.

 

“Who said I was afraid of anything?”

 

Reno smiled slyly at him.  “You didn’t have to say anything, man.  It’s written all over that honest face of yours.”

 

Zack grumbled and blew a few stray wisps of hair out of his eyes.  “Okay…fighting isn’t the only thing I’m out of practice with, you know?”

 

Reno considered that and shrugged.  “Just go with your instincts, like you did today.  You haven’t gone wrong yet.”  The Turk remembered one more thing, then.  “Oh, I’ll give ya one really important pointer though; Cloud likes it slow and easy the most, when he bottoms.  He’ll take a hard ride but if you wanna make him moan, let him feel every inch of you and take your time with it.”

 

Now Zack really was blushing and it wasn’t entirely a symptom of embarrassment.  His groin pulled taut in his pants as a result of Reno’s erotic description and he found himself picturing the Turk and his blonde friend together. 

 

“Slow and easy, right,” Zack said huskily.  He stared at Reno and admired the shape of his eyes and the fringe of ginger lashes surrounding them.  Again, he had to give Cloud credit for good taste in lovers and the more he got to know Reno, the more he liked him.  “Thanks for the tip.  I’m still going to wait a little longer, though.”

 

“Why?” Reno asked with candid curiosity.  “Haven’t you waited long enough?”

 

“I just want it to be the right moment.  I’ll know when it is.”  Zack grinned, knowing it sounded cheesy.

 

“Shit…you’re one of those romantic types, aren’t ya?” Reno shook his head and sighed, but his eyes were twinkling with interest and mischief. 

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Zack did take advantage of the key that Reno gave him after he got cleaned up, but not for the reason the Turk pushed for.  He let himself into Cloud’s suite and called out softly to him as he made his way to the bedroom.  He heard the blonde mumble in confusion and saw his shadowy outline sit up in the bed.

 

“Hey, don’t be mad at me okay?” Zack said as he approached and sat down on the edge of the bed.

 

“Zack?  I thought I locked the door,” Cloud yawned, reaching out clumsily for the bedside lamp.  He clicked it on and squinted in the sudden light at his friend.

 

“You did,” Zack confirmed with a sheepish grin.  “Reno gave me a key.”

 

“Reno?” Cloud rubbed his eyes.  “He told me he only borrowed that key.  Should have known better.” 

 

“Wait, you didn’t give it to him?” Now Zack was confused.  “I thought that’s how he got it, since you two are together.”

 

Cloud waved a hand negligently.  “Doesn’t matter.  I would have but he just helped himself before I could get a copy for him.”  He stretched and blinked, trying to bring his sleep-blurred eyes into focus.  Usually it wasn’t this hard for him to wake up but he’d really worn himself out earlier with his mad dash down thirty-five floors worth of stairs.  When Zack’s profile came into focus, he stared.  His friend was wearing a black muscle shirt and there were no white wings arching out of his back.

 

“Your wings are gone.”  Cloud tilted his head with confusion, doll-like in his sleepy state.

 

“Yeah, I wanted to show you that,” Zack chuckled.  “I’ve figured out how to pop them in and out.  I did it by accident while I was practicing with Tseng and I just figured it out from there.”

 

Cloud smiled.  “That’s great, Zack.  So you borrowed the key to show me?”

 

“Not exactly,” the ex-Soldier said, shifting a little on the bed.  Cloud’s golden hair was mussed and he had imprints from the wrinkles on his pillow pressed into his face.  He wore a pair of plain green boxer shorts and the rumpled bed covers were bunched up around his thighs.  He looked painfully endearing to Zack. 

 

“The truth is, I wanted to spend the night with you…just sleeping next to you and maybe getting a little nookie and some cuddles.  What do you say, Cloud?”  Zack’s heart pounded as he waited for an answer and he didn’t know why he was so nervous.

 

The blonde’s eyes seemed to clear as the proposition sank in.  He reached out for Zack and surprised him as he had in the elevator, cupping the back of his head to draw his mouth to his.  There was no hesitation and no awkwardness in the moment—just a perfect kiss full of desire and tenderness.  Zack slid further onto the bed and put his arms around the smaller man, deepening the kiss.

 

“I always thought you’d be kind of shy,” Zack murmured as his mouth trailed over Cloud’s jaw and throat.

 

“Only when I talk instead of act,” answered the blonde.  His fingers slid into Zack’s shower-dampened hair, encouraging the movement of his lips on his neck.  Zack was making him feel a little like a teen again, with his gentle, restrained passion.  He was holding back and while Cloud was used to his lovers being more aggressive, he understood why Zack was trying to take it slow.  He clamped down on his own need and refrained from rushing it. 

 

Zack stretched out on his side and drew Cloud down with him, his mouth constantly moving over his lips, his jaw and his neck.  He stroked the blonde’s arms and back with his hands, caressing the skin with unhurried tenderness.  He rolled onto his back, bringing Cloud with him so that the blonde was stretched out on top of him. 

 

Zack allowed himself one guilty pleasure, unable to resist the temptation.  He slid his hands down and cupped his companion’s delightfully firm, rounded ass and he alternated between rubbing it through the boxers and squeezing the cheeks gently.  He felt Cloud’s growing erection against his thigh and he groaned faintly, reminding himself that now wasn’t the right time to go all the way.

 

“Zack, you’re really turning me on,” Cloud warned, his hands running over the black-haired fighter’s muscle shirt to explore the hard planes of his body.  “Don’t be a tease.”

 

Zack laughed softly and rubbed his nose against Cloud’s.  “I’m not trying to, believe me.  Like I said, I want it to be just right.  Come on, Goldie…if a horndog like me can hold back I’m sure a sweet country boy like you can do it too.”  Cloud’s mouth met his in an open-mouthed kiss, the tongue sliding in briefly before retreating so that he could answer.

 

“I’ve had some bad influences,” Cloud murmured against his lips. 

 

“Hmm, so Reno’s responsible for this hot little bombshell I’ve got on top of me, eh?” Zack teased, returning Cloud’s kisses with slow, sensual ones of his own.  “Who else, besides Rufus?”

 

Cloud pulled back and looked at him with a wary expression, reminding Zack that Reno had been the one to tell him about Rufus, not Cloud. 

 

“He told you,” Cloud accused.  “What else did you and Reno talk about?  All he told me was that you asked him how he’d feel about you and I getting together and he said it was okay.”

 

“That’s basically the gist of it,” Zack assured him, wishing he could kick himself for spoiling the mood.  “He just slipped up and mentioned Rufus.”

 

“I meant to tell you about that myself,” sighed the blonde, his sapphire gaze dropping.  “I just wanted to do it on my own time.  I guess I should just come clean with you now, before this goes any further.”

 

“You make it sound like you’ve done something wrong,” Zack observed with a frown.  When Cloud looked at him sharply he realized he wasn’t far from the mark.

 

“Just don’t judge me, okay?” Cloud said in a subtly pleading tone.

 

“Why would I do that?” Zack questioned sincerely.

 

Cloud shrugged.  “I don’t know…maybe because you always seemed to have this wholesome image of me.  The things I’m going to tell you now are gonna shatter that image in a million pieces.”

 

“I don’t think they will, but I’m listening,” Zack said gently.  He stroked Cloud’s hair and gazed up at him with friendly, encouraging eyes.

 

Cloud took a deep breath and began.  He told him everything…about his first encounter with Reno on Fenrir, the following encounter and kidnapping with the limo and the drugged orgy with the Turks.  Zack’s expression darkened when he got to the parts about Rufus coercing, tricking and seducing him but Cloud quickly explained that the president hadn’t tried anything like that on him since the party.  He went on to tell him about Reno’s Mako poisoning coma, Rufus’s kidnapping and finally, the reconciliation he’d had with the president.

 

“So, I’ve fooled around with all of them at least a little, but Reno and Rufus are the two I’ve actually _been_ with,” explained Cloud when he was finished.  “Reno was sleeping with all three of them before he and I got together and he still does.  I never thought I’d be okay with a relationship like this but it works.  How he finds the time for all of us, I’ll never know.”

 

Zack chuckled, imagining the level of energy and stamina the redhead must have at his disposal.  “Well, you’ve got nothing to worry about, Cutie Pie.  It’s kind of surprising but it doesn’t change the way I feel about you…or my intentions.”

 

“You really don’t care?” Cloud persisted, narrowing his eyes at Zack searchingly.  “I mean, they’re all with ShinRa and after everything that’s happened you’ve got plenty of reasons to be disgusted.”

 

“Cloud, I’m not disgusted,” Zack insisted firmly, cupping his face to hold his gaze.  “I know I was kind of out of it when I first woke up but I remember everything I learned while I was with Aerith in the Lifestream.  Sure, they’ve got flaws and they still do some things I’m against but I know you feel the same.  Overall they’re a different company and like I said before, I know you wouldn’t be with any of them if there wasn’t some good in them.”

 

Cloud laid his head on the other man’s chest and closed his eyes with relief.  Zack’s hands stroked his back and Cloud turned his face up to kiss his throat.  “I was worried,” he confessed.  “Thanks for understanding, Zack.”

 

Zack smiled and kept rubbing his back.  “Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me about it,” he returned.  “Now, what do you say we get a little sleep?  I’ve still got a butt-load of flying and sword practice to cram in before we go and tear Cissnei’s attackers a new one.”

 

Cloud couldn’t decide whether he was more disappointed or endeared that Zack didn’t push for more making out.  He snuggled against Zack and contented himself with the feel of his strong body lying beneath him.  If he wanted to wait, Cloud wasn’t going to push him.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	9. Chapter 9

“Alliance”

Chapter 9

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

Reno woke up early—under protest of course.  As second in command of the Turks, he had more responsibilities than others in his department and he had a lot of things to help organize for the upcoming raid against the Deepground forces Cissnei found in the Ancient Forest.  One of the reoccurring errors that kept coming up was location confusion.  The paperwork kept coming out as “City of the Ancients” and Reno was about ready to throttle the people in filing department over it.

 

Preparing for another busy day full of headaches, the redhead stopped by Cloud’s suite first, needing a bit of cheering up before beginning work.  He let himself in with the second key he’d copied and he crept quietly into the suite, passing through the main living/dining area to the bedroom in the back.  The door was cracked and he pushed it open cautiously and peeked inside.

 

Zackary Fair was sprawled out in the center of the bed on his back, still fully dressed in loose denim jeans, socks and a black muscle shirt.  His wings had sprouted again—whether by his will or on their own during his sleep, Reno couldn’t guess.  The beautiful, feathery appendages were spread out under his back, spanning the width of the bed and hanging over the sides.  Cloud Strife lay on top of the former Soldier, looking delightfully vulnerable in nothing but a pair of boxers as he slept peacefully with his head on Zack’s chest.  Both young men were snoring softly and one of Zack’s arms was loosely embracing the blonde.

 

_~Huh.  I guess Fair really wasn’t kidding about taking it slow.  I didn’t think those two would be able to fight temptation but it doesn’t look like they went all the way to me.  Still, that’s nice photo material.~_

Unable to resist, Reno fished out his cellphone and snapped a picture.  He was a little surprised that Cloud was still asleep because he usually woke up with the sunrise—a habit that had annoyed Reno to no end when the blonde had been helping him train to get used to his heightened senses.  He checked the photo he’d just snapped to make sure it came out right and he grinned.

 

_~Cute.  Blondie and Wolfy, cuddled up nice and pretty together.~_

Reno was struck by a sudden sweep of possessiveness that surprised him…not because he felt it for Cloud but because he also felt it for Zack.  He frowned and considered the feeling, wondering if it was an instinctive reaction to his acceptance of Zack as a love interest to Cloud.  After a moment of examination, the truth settled in and Reno sighed.

_~It ain’t just because of Strife.  Zack’s freakin’ seducing me with that sexy confidence and romantic streak of his.  It’s a little bit like the way Rufus and I started out.  The boss didn’t go for it with me right away…he made me wait and that made me so hot for him.  There’s something about a guy that takes control like that I just can’t fucking resist.  I doubt Fair’s made promises to tie Cloud up and spank him good and proper but still…same principle.~_

With those thoughts came another realization:  If Zack did eventually go for Reno, he’d probably make him wait too.  That revelation made the redhead groan.  He’d had to wait for everyone he wanted to fuck and he was pretty damned sure he’d be stuck doing it again if he managed to catch Zack’s eye.

 

_~Ah hell, what am I complaining about?  I don’t even know if I’ve got a shot with him and if I do, it ain’t like I don’t have four other guys I can jump if he gets me too frustrated with the wait.~_

Reno decided he’d stood there debating for long enough.  He didn’t want to wake the slumbering hotties up, but he knew Zack needed to get in as much flying and combat practice as he could before the strike.  Maybe he could wake the black-haired fighter up without waking up Cloud?  Of course, getting the blonde off of Zack without waking him was another matter.  The Turk walked softly to the bed and leaned over, prepared to whisper Zack’s name and give him a little shake. 

 

Cloud mumbled in his sleep and smacked his lips a little and Reno ended up staring at the blonde’s tempting mouth.  He just looked so damned cute and young and sexy all at once.  It drew Reno like a magnet and he pressed his lips against Cloud’s gently, unable to resist tasting the soft flesh.

 

“Mmm?”  Cloud murmured, stirring in response to the feel of his lover’s mouth against his.

 

“Shit,” Reno swore softly.  “Sorry baby, I wasn’t trying to wake you up.  Just couldn’t resist.”

 

“Reno?” Cloud yawned, his eyes still shut.  He almost seemed to be talking in his sleep.  “How’d you get in without a key?”

 

Reno snorted.  “Like I was gonna give Fair my only copy.  You know me better, Cloud.”

 

Cloud smiled sweetly.  “Yeah, I know you better.” 

 

He was always so vulnerable and _loveable_ when he was sleepy.  Reno had never met anyone that was so laid-back and sweet when they were woken up.  He himself was one of the grumpiest fuckers in the world in the mornings but Cloud was ironically tractable.  It was like all that angst of his went away, giving a peek at what Strife must have been like before he joined the military and faced so much heartache and trauma. 

 

Reno chuckled.  “Quit being so damn cute or I’ll have to drag you off of Zack for a quickie before I clock in.”

 

“Sorry,” Cloud sighed agreeably.

 

Reno bit back a groan.  Blondie wasn’t cooperating with his request to stop being cute and it was making his libido rise.  He reached out for Zack’s shoulder, intending to shake him awake.  “Hey Fair, ya need to get up so you can—” 

 

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence.  Zack’s wings suddenly came to life and wrapped around the Turk, startling him.  He grunted as the wings cocooned all three of them and pulled him on top of both Cloud and Zack.  Reno ended up staring over Cloud’s fluffy golden hair at Zack’s face, inches away from his own.  His goggles were knocked askew and they hung lopsided over his forehead.

 

“Yo, what’s with the _ambush_?”

 

Blue-violet eyes opened and gazed into his and the Turk found himself marveling at the thickness of the black fringe of lashes surrounding those eyes.  Zack blinked, his eyes focusing on him.  He glanced around with a puzzled expression and became aware that his wings had sandwiched the three of them together.

 

“Whoops,” Zack murmured bashfully, unfurling the wings to let Reno up.  “Looks like these things have a mind of their own.  Sorry about that, Reno.”

 

Reno’s pulse was racing in reaction to the brief, intimate contact and the startling way Zack had gone from being deeply asleep to wide-awake in two seconds.  He struggled out of his sprawled position and got off of the bed, straightening his goggles on his head in what he hoped was a casual gesture.

 

“It’s cool,” the Turk said levelly.  “I figured Blondie forgot to set the alarm since he usually wakes up on his own before the sun finishes rising, so I came to give you a wakeup call on my way to my office.”  He tilted his head and grinned.  “You’re like a fly trap or something.”

 

“Or a fox trap,” Zack said with a wolfish grin.  He looked down at Cloud, who was lifting his disheveled, golden head and looking around with confused, sleepy eyes.  “Morning, sleepy head.”

 

“What’s going on?” Cloud mumbled as he stretched on top of Zack and yawned.

 

“Nothing much,” answered the former Soldier.  “My wings just decided to add a little cinnamon to the mix.”

 

Reno chuckled at the metaphor and Cloud scratched his head. 

 

“Huh?” the blonde queried.  “What are you talking about?”

 

“I went to wake up your boy and his wings nabbed me,” Reno translated. 

 

“Why’d they do that?” Cloud asked as he rolled off of Zack and sat up, peering at the digital clock on the right nightstand.

 

“Beats me,” Zack said with a yawn.  He sat up as well and stretched his arms.  He inadvertently struck Cloud in the back with his right wing as he stretched those, too.  “Oops, sorry about that.  Here, lemme put the stubborn things away.”  He concentrated and rolled his shoulders and both Cloud and Reno watched with fascination as the wings retreated into his back.

 

“Maybe it was defensive instinct,” Reno theorized.

 

Zack raised an eyebrow at him and grinned.  “To do what…hug my enemies to death?  Wouldn’t it have made more sense for them to slap you across the room or something?”

 

 Reno shrugged.  “Depends, man.  If I was trying to steal from ya it’d be hard to get away with those things wrapped around me and if you had a weapon on you, I’d be screwed.”

 

“Hmm, good point,” agreed Zack.  His first conscious tactic would have been to put enough distance between himself and an aggressor to get a weapon ready and gain some advantage, but Reno’s logic also made sense.  He didn’t say it out loud but he thought the instinctive reaction was motivated by something far different than self-defense, though.

 

“Well, I’ve got to get going,” Reno said as he glanced at his watch.  “Too much shit to do and not enough time to do it.”  He remembered his other reason for stopping by and he reached into an inner blazer pocket.  “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.  Here ya go, Blondie.  It’s only fair, right?”  He pulled out a keyring and tossed it Cloud’s way. 

 

Even half-awake as he was, Cloud caught it and he looked at the two keys attached to it.  “What’s this?”

 

“Keys to my place,” Reno said with a wink.  “Since I filched a copy to your suite, I figured I might as well make copies of the ones to my apartment for ya.  You can come over and make yourself at home anytime ya like, baby.  Doesn’t matter if I’m there or not.”

 

Cloud was touched and surprised by the trusting gesture.  After all, of the two of them Reno had more to hide than he did.  The fact that he was giving him permission to use his place whenever he felt like it spoke volumes about the level of trust he had for him now.

 

“Go kiss him,” Zack suggested softly out the corner of his mouth as Reno started walking out of the bedroom.  The black-haired fighter nudged Cloud firmly for emphasis.

 

Cloud flushed.  He’d wanted to but he wasn’t sure how secure things were between the three of them yet and he thought it would have been rude to do it in front of Zack.  He hurried after Reno, shooting a thankful look over his shoulder at his fellow swordsman.  Zack smiled crookedly at him and started making the bed.

 

“Hey,” Cloud said as he followed Reno into the main part of the suite.  The redhead turned around and Cloud put his arms around him and kissed him softly on the mouth. 

 

“Ya didn’t have to do that but I’m not complaining,” Reno murmured in a teasing voice as he returned the embrace. 

 

“I appreciate the gesture,” Cloud murmured awkwardly, stumbling over the task of verbal expression.  “I feel a little bad that I don’t have a copy of my house keys in Edge to give you.”

 

“Well, ya don’t live alone there,” reasoned the Turk.  “Tifa probably wouldn’t go for it so I’m not upset about it.”

 

Cloud sighed.  Part of him thought it was time for him to have his own place but the whole point to he and Tifa living together was to give Denzel some semblance of a stable family unit.  Marlene stayed with them a lot when Barret was on the job but they weren’t actually her parent figures, so whether Cloud and Tifa lived together didn’t affect her much. 

 

“Maybe someday when Denzel’s older I’ll have a place of my own there,” Cloud said. 

 

Reno shrugged.  “We get enough privacy when I come to visit you there.  It’s not a big deal, Blondie.”

 

“You’re getting pretty mellow on me,” Cloud said with a little smirk.

 

“Yo, take that back,” Reno chuckled.  He gave the blonde one last, deep kiss before releasing him and heading out the door.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Zack went to his own suite to shower and change his clothes, which left Cloud stuck with settling for fantasies about the water cascading over the other fighter’s naked, tight-muscled body.  He had enough humility to feel a little ashamed by how frustrated he was getting already and he doubted that he’d have had this problem if Zack had acted years ago, before Cloud discovered the bliss of having sex so many different ways.

 

There was no help for it, though.  As the blonde stepped into the shower and turned on the water, his mind stayed on the black-haired man who was doing the same thing three doors down across the hall.  He pictured how Zack had looked in those swimming trunks, the day they’d dueled with the umbrellas and his wings made their first appearance.  The former Soldier had a magnificent physique and though it didn’t have the scars he remembered from years ago, it was the same tightly muscled frame that he’d tried so hard not to fantasize about when he was a cadet.

 

Now he was free to let his imagination run wild and Cloud closed his eyes and thought of how Zack would look without a stitch of clothing, with the spraying water sparkling on his skin.  Without even consciously thinking about it, the blonde dropped a hand down between his thighs and curled his fingers around his erection.  He parted his lips and sighed as he began to stroke the length of his cock.  It wasn’t enough.  The friction was a bit too harsh and Cloud opened his eyes again and sought out the bar of soap sitting on the perch in the shower stall.  He grabbed it and soaped his hands up before replacing it and he resumed his fantasy, moaning softly as he sought out his stiffened flesh again with his lathered hand.

 

He kept going even as his face turned red with humiliation.  He never would have dared to let himself go like this back in the days he was in training.  He’d never been the sort to obsess over a hopeless cause, so when he saw how much attention Zack gave to the fairer sex he gave up on him.  Now he was free to obsess but embarrassed at the same time because he couldn’t be patient enough to wait for the reality to happen.

 

The sensations and mental images slowly did away with his embarrassment and he took the fantasy further, imagining what Zack’s cock would look like sliding into his mouth.  He wondered if the black-haired man would moan as loudly as Reno had when he did it to him and a groan of need burst from his lips. 

 

The fantasy changed from Cloud sucking Zack off to Zack doing the same to him…then it became so vivid it was more like a memory, and instead of Cloud, some other man was being treated to Zack’s skills.  Cloud couldn’t see his face but he saw the tensed thigh muscles and tight abdomen.  The mystery man was sitting in a chair of some sort and Zack was kneeling between his legs, squeezing the base of his cock while pleasuring the length with his mouth.  The throaty moans and grunts coming from the man indicated that Zack was doing a very good job, indeed.

 

The room was dim but it looked like an office, with modern style furnishings.  Cloud was finally able to see the man’s face as Zack paused and looked up at him.

 

“How’s that, Director?”  Zack’s sexy, wolfish grin was confident and teasing and the recipient of his attention gazed down at him and panted softly.  He had wavy blond, collar-length hair and handsome, noble features. 

 

Cloud came out of the fantasy with a start, his eyes flying open.  The blonde guy looked strikingly similar to Rufus Shinra, though his eyes had more blue in them and he wore almond-shaped eyeglasses.  He knew that man and he was as surprised that he’d never stopped to compare his looks with Rufus’s before as he was to realize that what he’d just seen in his head wasn’t a fantasy, but a snatch of memory from Zack that had never surfaced before.

 

“Zack and…Director Lazard?”  Cloud’s lust was forgotten in the face of his confusion and dawning revelations.  When Zack died, he’d unwittingly bequeathed some of his memories to Cloud, telling him to live for both of them.  Cloud very much doubted he’d intended to give him THAT particular memory but now the question of how and where he’d learned to give head like that was answered.

 

“Well, that’s one mystery solved,” Cloud mumbled, still reeling from the knowledge.  He wasn’t surprised that Zack would have that kind of skill, given the man’s self-assured sex appeal.  Zackary Fair wasn’t arrogant by any means but he was a determined person and he never did anything half-assed.

 

Cloud started to absently soap his body down, his eyes blank and distracted as he worked his thoughts through his head.  He’d never known Lazard very well; he’d been in charge of SOLDIER so Cloud never entertained thoughts of doing more than following his orders.  Evidently, Zack didn’t let the man’s status as his superior stop him…but then, Zack wouldn’t have, would he? 

 

_~I’m sure as hell not going to tell Zack I inherited his blowjob skills.  I wouldn’t even know how to say it out loud!~_

It bothered him though…the resemblance between the former SOLDIER director and the current president of ShinRa.  He supposed he’d never paid attention to it before because he’d never dared to look Lazard in the eye while he was under his command and therefore, he’d never gotten a very good look at him up close.

 

Deciding to just let it go for now, Cloud finished getting cleaned up and changed into his usual combat ensemble of cargo pants and a sleeveless shirt.  His phone rang while he was finishing up with towel-drying his hair and he blinked when he saw that it was Rufus calling him.

 

_~Huh.  Funny coincidence.~_

Feeling uncommonly mischievous thanks to the little treasure of memory he’d accidentally dug up, Cloud answered the phone.

 

“Bless you.”

 

For a moment, there was no response.  “I beg your pardon, Cloud?”

 

Cloud smirked.  “Did you sneeze a minute ago?”

 

“Er…no.  I’m afraid I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about but then, you have a talent for the random,” Rufus answered dryly.

 

Cloud resisted a chuckle.  Apparently Rufus wasn’t familiar with the myth about a sneeze meaning someone was thinking of you.  “Never mind, it’s not important.  What do you need, Rufus?”

 

“I was hoping that you and Fair could stop by my office for a few moments before you start the day.  I have something I’d like to speak with you both about.”

 

Cloud’s mouth twisted and like the night with the dog collar, he wondered if Rufus had some sort of ESP and had read his fantasy/flashback.  “Can you tell me what this is about?”

 

“It’s nothing terrible, if that’s your concern,” Rufus assured him.  “It concerns Zackary’s flight training.”

 

Cloud sighed with relief and rolled his eyes.  One of these days he was going to _have_ to stop being so paranoid when it came to Rufus.  The man was clever and a brilliant tactician, but he wasn’t a psychic.  “That’s fine.  We’ll come up after we’re finished getting ready.”

 

“Excellent.  I’ll see you then.” 

 

Rufus ended the call and Cloud tucked his cell into one of his pant pockets.  He finished towel drying his hair and he went back into the bathroom to blow-dry it the rest of the way and run a brush through it.  He brushed his teeth next and then he headed out the door, locking it behind him.

 

“Took you long enough.”

 

Cloud jumped and turned to find Zack lounging against the wall by his door.  The former Soldier grinned at him and Cloud couldn’t help but think of the vision he’d had in the shower, where Zack had given Lazard that same grin while he was in the middle of sucking him off.

 

“Uh, hi,” Cloud squeaked.

 

“You hitting puberty again, feather-head?  Or are you coming down with a cold?”  Zack’s eyes twinkled with amusement but he also looked a little concerned.

 

Cloud cleared his throat and shook his head.  “No, I just had a frog in my throat.  President Shinra wants us to go by his office before we start training.  He wants to talk to us about your flying lessons.”

 

“Hmm, think he knows someone else with wings to help teach me?” Zack pondered.

 

“I kind of get the feeling it’s more about the scene you and Reno made yesterday, but I could be wrong.”

 

Zack winced.  “Ouch.  I haven’t even been here a whole week yet and I’m already pissing off the big man.  Well, let’s face the music, buddy.”

 

As they walked to the elevators together, Cloud began to wonder if it really had been his imagination painting that “memory” in his head after all.  Zack had seen Rufus before at a distance, though he hadn’t spoken to him yet.  If he really had been with Lazard sexually before, wouldn’t he have noticed the similarities in looks too?  The blonde glanced at his friend as they stepped into the elevator and he began to doubt himself.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

“Please, have a seat,” Rufus offered when the two of them arrived in his office.  “Would either of you care for a drink?  I have juice, bottled water and cola…unless you’d prefer something stronger.” 

 

His manner was polite and even a little friendly, so Cloud began to relax, thinking he and Zack might get through this without a lecture after all.

 

“That’s mighty nice of you, President,” Zack drawled, “I’ll take some juice, thanks.”

 

Cloud stared at his friend, wondering why in blazes Zack had reverted to the country accent.  He noticed that his left knee was bouncing and he realized that for some reason, Zack was nervous.

 

“And you Cloud?” Rufus regarded him with quiet, gray eyes.  “Can I get you something?”

 

“Uh…water?” Cloud answered stupidly.

 

Rufus gave them both a brief look before his manners overpowered whatever question he was tempted to ask.  He probably wondered if they were both stoned and Cloud couldn’t blame him.

 

_~We’re a real pair of winners today; the Hick and the Dummy.~_

When Rufus got up and walked across the room to get their drinks out of the mini fridge, Cloud turned to Zack and hissed, “What’s with the accent?   You sound like a _hillbilly_!”

 

“I know,” Zack whispered back with a cringe.  “I can’t help it…it happens sometimes when I’m on edge, man.  What about you, though?”  Zack crossed his eyes and stuck his upper lip out.  “ _’Duh…waater?’_ ”

 

Cloud covered his mouth as a giggle threatened.  “I didn’t sound or look like that when I said it and I was distracted by the _dirt-digger_ sitting next to me!”

 

Rufus had sharper ears than either of them realized and he paused in what he was doing as he overheard their conversation.  His mouth twitched and he cleared his throat as he grabbed a bottle of juice and a bottle of water out of the fridge.

 

“Hey, you’re just as much a dirt-digger as I am, sweet cheeks.  Half of Nibelheim is inbred, so I’ve heard.”

 

Cloud’s mouth dropped open at the insult, even as the laughter kept trying to bubble to the surface.  “Why don’t you go swing on a vine or something, jungle boy?”

 

They both fell into silent laughter, trying hard to control themselves.  It was like old times again and the familiar trade of playful insults had started without either of them meaning for it to.

 

“Shhh, he probably already thinks we’re on drugs or something,” Cloud whispered as he struggled to clamp down on his mirth.  It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Zack why he was nervous in the first place, but Rufus was coming back so he had no time.

 

“Are we going to start shooting spitballs next?” the president inquired mildly as he handed their drinks to them.

 

Cloud and Zack looked at each other, wide-eyed.

 

“Guess you overheard us, then,” Zack said sheepishly.

 

Rufus nodded and tapped his right ear with a smirk.  “Excellent hearing does run in my family.  Now, if the two of you are finished horsing around, I’d like to discuss the scene that you and Reno made yesterday, Zackary.”

 

Zack winced.  He hated it when authoritative figures used the long version of his name.  It made him feel like a naughty kid.  “Yeah…well that wasn’t what I had in mind,” he started to explain.

 

Rufus held up a hand.  “I’m not interested in what you _‘had in mind’_.  It was a foolish idea to try your wings in the middle of a populated city.  For one, there are power lines to consider.  Do you know how many dead _birds_ the city has to clean off of them at the end of each day?  Imagine the difficulty they would have scraping _you_ off.  For another, we have _traffic_ …both on the roads and in the _air_.  Given your current status as a ‘ _fledgling_ ’ of sorts, I doubt you would have been able to steer away from a passing helicopter.”

 

Rufus paused for a moment to let it sink in and Zack shrank in his chair like a scolded puppy.  The president concealed a smile and went on. 

 

“Finally, let’s consider the public display, shall we?  There are videos springing up all over the internet and questions as to why a winged man is living in the ShinRa, WRO Headquarters…let alone why a Turk decided to leap off the top of the building.  There are yet more questions about why after a known Turk operative tried to kill himself and a winged man rescued him, the two of them walked back to headquarters chatting casually and a wild-eyed blonde ran out and got a piggy-back ride from the winged man.  I understand that you’re readjusting right now Fair, but this organization doesn’t _need_ questions like that directed at us…especially not at such a crucial time.”

 

 Cloud also cringed, not realizing that _he’d_ be a subject of the questions as well.  He wondered what kind of lecture Reno had gotten (and he was sure he’d gotten one as soon as he clocked in).  He imagined the redhead’s scolding had come with a paddle.  He thought about telling Rufus that he’d tried to talk Zack out of the roof dive but he knew that would just sound like a boyish excuse to the president’s strict ears.

 

“I guess I wasn’t thinking about all that,” Zack said, stuffing his embarrassment down so that he could show a little dignity.  “But I’ve got to learn how to use my wings.  What do you suggest, Sir?”  He looked the president up and down and he felt his cheeks cool down.  He crossed his arms over his chest and took in the fine bone structure of Rufus’s face, the sandy color of his hair and the shape and pigment of his eyes.

 

~Another guy a lot like you used to make me feel jittery, pal.  I overcame it with him and I can do the same with you.  Well, maybe not the SAME, but I can pull myself together and act like a man instead of a nervous teenager.~

 

Cloud noticed the way Zack had begun to study Rufus and he opened his drink and started sipping at it, keeping an eye on his friend and paying attention to his body language.

 

~Okay, maybe I wasn’t wrong after all.  Maybe I didn’t just make that scene up in my head.  He almost looks like he’s undressing Rufus with his eyes.  Shit, I hope Rufus doesn’t notice…we’ve already made a bad impression today and Zack leering at him after he just chewed our asses isn’t going to help.  He may not be my boss but he’s running the show here and I know Zack wants to be part of this strike force.~

“I suggest you go outside of town to practice your flying,” Rufus suggested.  “Not too far since we don’t know how far Deepground is scattered, but far enough away from populated areas to avoid the public eye.  Now, I checked on this myself and I think I’ve found a good location for you.  Cloud, I assume you’re familiar with route 28?”

 

Cloud thought for a moment and nodded.

 

“There’s an old farm a few miles out that way.  It’s abandoned and there’s a barn you could use for elevation and a lake to provide a watery landing if you lose control.  There’s a rest stop not too far from there in case you need refreshments and the roads that way have been almost fully repaired.”

 

Rufus paused and smirked.  “A pair of dirt-diggers should feel right at home there, I imagine.”

 

Zack returned the smirk.  “Well, you know us country boys.  Give us a pair of suspenders and a rope to swing from and we’ll have a ball in that lake, leeches or not.”

 

Rufus grimaced a little at the mention of leeches and Cloud pressed down on Zack’s shoe warningly with his own.  The more Fair goofed off the more likely it was going to be that Rufus might decide not to include him in the raid.

 

“Yes well, that’s…fabulous,” Rufus murmured.  “I want you both to know that I do appreciate your working with us to end this threat.  It’s just important that we maintain a professional image and avoid alarming the public.  Is that understood?”

 

Cloud nodded and so did Zack. 

 

“I’ll be more careful, President Shinra,” Zack promised. 

 

Cloud took another sip of his drink just as Zack tilted his head and made an observation out loud.

 

“You know Sir, you look a lot like Director Lazard.”

 

Cloud’s eyes bugged out and he spit water all over the place, making both men stare at him with surprise.  What the blonde hadn’t spit, he’d inhaled and now he was coughing raggedly.

 

“You okay there, Cloud?” Zack asked as he patted his companion’s back. 

 

Cloud pounded his chest with one hand and covered his mouth with the other, nodding mutely.

 

“Do you need to use my restroom, Strife?” offered the president.

 

Cloud nodded and tried to thank him but his voice came out as a coughing rasp.  He excused himself and hurried through the door leading into Rufus’s private suite.  When he was gone, Rufus and Zack eyed each other.

 

“Director who?” the president inquired with polite detachment.

 

“Lazard,” repeated Zack with a sharp look.  “He was head of the SOLDIER department, back around when you first became the VP.”

 

“I’m afraid I never knew him,” Rufus said coolly.

 

In the bathroom, Cloud’s coughing fit eased and he rinsed his face in the sink and began to snicker uncontrollably.  He didn’t know why it was funny to him.  Maybe his laughing fit was a hysterical reaction to the relief he felt in the confirmation that he’d inherited his oral techniques from Zack, rather than something darker and seedier.  He’d assured Reno that he’d never been violated but a part of him had always worried that maybe he really had and the memory might come crashing down on him one day to crush him, like poor Cissnei.

 

When he composed himself and came back out, Zack and Rufus were eying one another with mutual suspicion.  Cloud’s good humor dropped a couple of degrees and he wondered if there was something more to Rufus’s resemblance to Lazard than mere coincidence. 

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	10. Chapter 10

“Alliance”

Chapter 10

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

Zack had “ _seen_ ” Fenrir before when he was in the spirit world, but this was his first time to see the bike in the physical world with his own two eyes.  He and Cloud stopped before the bike in the parking garage and he stared at it while Cloud removed the security lock from the front tire and put it in a compartment.

 

“You really built this bad boy yourself?” Zack inquired as Cloud got on and took out two pairs of protective eye goggles from another compartment.

 

“Yeah, little by little,” Cloud smiled.  “How do you like him?”

 

“Sexy,” Zack complimented with a grin.  He took the pair of goggles his friend handed to him and he put them on, securing them over his eyes.  He straddled the seat behind Cloud and made it a point to hold onto him nice and tight when he put his arms around him—but not so tight that he restricted his breathing.

 

“Hey Cloud, did Director Lazard remind you of Rufus?” the black-haired fighter asked as Cloud made some last minute preparations before starting the bike.

 

Cloud bit his lip and shrugged.  “You knew him better than I did.”  Another hysterical snicker began to surface before he could stop it and some of it came out before he got a handle on it.

 

“Okay, that’s the _second_ time you’ve had a weird reaction when I mentioned it,” Zack informed him wryly.  “What’s going on?”

 

“Nothing,” the blonde lied, his face heating up as the flash of memory rose in his mind.  He shifted on the bike and hoped that his body wouldn’t betray him.

 

“You’re not telling me straight, Chocobo,” Zack insisted, his breath tickling Cloud’s ear.  “I can tell because you tensed up.”

 

Cloud winced.  “Okay, there’s something to that but it’s not something I really want to talk about here, where people could walk by and hear us.  Can’t it wait until later, after you do a few test flights?”

 

Zack heaved a sigh.  “Must be something that touches a nerve.  Okay Cloud…I’ll try to be patient and wait ‘till you’re ready to talk about it.”

 

“Thanks.  I…I promise I’ll explain it to you later, okay?”  Cloud really wasn’t prepared to tell Zack the truth at all, but he couldn’t refuse him either.  He’d been open with him about everything else pertaining to his relationships…he might as well try to explain about this as well.

 

~**************************~

* * *

 

A little over an hour later, they found the abandoned farm that Rufus had told them about.  Cloud pulled off the road and parked Fenrir inside the open barn.  Both men tugged their goggles down to hang around their necks and prepared to get off the bike.  On impulse, Cloud turned around in his seat and planted a kiss on Zack’s mouth, grateful that the other man didn’t press him for information about his reactions to the whole Rufus/Lazard thing.  Zack returned the kiss, smiling against his lips with pleasure and when Cloud tried to break away and dismount Fenrir, the black-haired fighter’s arms tightened around him.

 

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Zack purred, his mouth seeking out the blonde’s again.

 

“Up to the hay loft,” Cloud murmured before his companion’s lips pressed against his.

 

“Mmm, why?” Zack’s tongue eased gently into his mouth and played for a moment before withdrawing.

 

“Can’t remember,” Cloud’s mind went blank.

 

Zack chuckled and did it again, scattering Cloud’s thoughts further.  One of the blonde’s hands settled on his thigh and pushed upwards toward his crotch.  Zack’s urgency increased and he kissed him with more passion, sliding his tongue against his and using more pressure with his lips.  He swelled in his pants as Cloud’s hand stroked up and down his thigh, coming close to the source of his growing arousal. 

 

_~I should cut this out now, before he decides to feel me up and things get out of hand.~_

He told himself that but he didn’t make any moves to still the blonde’s busy hand.  He pulled Cloud tighter against him and glided a hand downhis ribs and around to his stomach.  His hand brushed against the top of the blonde’s swelling crotch as he tugged on his shirt to pull it out of his pants and Cloud instinctively lifted his hips with needy frustration.  Zack resisted the temptation to give him what he wanted, knowing his own limits and determined to wait a little while longer before moving to the next stage.  He had a lot to do today and if he let himself get caught up in passion he’d lose precious training time and rob both of them of the perfect experience. 

 

Oh, but it was so damn _hard_ to resist… _hard_ being the operative word.

 

There was suddenly a rending sound and Zack felt the familiar popping sensation.  Both men froze and the black-haired solider pulled his lips away from Cloud’s and rested his forehead on his shoulder with exasperation.

 

“Damn,” Zack sighed.  Clearly, sexual tension was also a trigger for the wings to sprout.  Now he’d ruined one of his favorite new shirts and the frustrated need he felt only increased his angst.

 

“Well, at least now I don’t have to take my shirt off to practice flying,” Zack said glibly, trying to look on the bright side as always.

 

“Why’d they pop out?” Cloud asked as he looked at the poised wings.

 

Zack smirked at him.  “For the same reason _this_ did,” he murmured.  Despite his better judgment, he grabbed the hand that Cloud still had resting on his leg and he guided it between his legs, demonstrating his point.

 

Cloud’s breath caught as he felt the evidence of his companion’s lust against his hand and he squeezed the bulging package eagerly, drawing a little moan from Zack.  “So you’re saying it’s my fault?”

 

“No, it’s totally MY fault,” Zack corrected with a short-winded laugh.  “I’m the one that couldn’t settle for a quick kiss.”

 

Cloud fondled the prominent bulge he was cupping impulsively, unable to help himself. 

 

Zack hissed through his teeth and reached down to disengage his hand.  “Okay now, I know I started this but you’ll have to settle for a quick grope, Cutie-pie...at least until we’re finished for the day.”

 

“Are you teasing me again, or is that a promise?” Cloud demanded as his hand was gently pulled away from Zack’s groin.

 

“It’s a promise, sexy thing,” Zack smiled.  “I need something a little more satisfying than some stolen kisses, myself.”

 

Cloud bit his lip as the swell of lust crashed against his meager restraints.  “Okay,” he said huskily, “if it’s a promise, I’ll hold back.  Um…how about we start with some sparring?”  A good swordfight was the next best thing, in his mind.

 

“Sounds good,” Zack’s voice was just as laced with need.  “I didn’t bring the sword they gave me, though.”

 

“Not a problem.”  Cloud smirked and turned back around, reaching for a catch under Fenrir’s front compartments.  Zack made a startled sound as the compartments popped open to reveal multiple swords of varying sizes and shapes.

 

“Whoa!  I forgot you carried your own _arsenal_!” Zack exclaimed as he peered over Cloud’s shoulder at the impressive array.

 

“Take your pick,” Cloud offered with a smile of shy pride.  Zack’s warmth left his back as the taller man dismounted from behind him and moved around closer to the front.  Cloud watched his friend’s blue-violet eyes study the selection of blades and he was again reminded that the man had once been a First Class Lieutenant in SOLDIER by the professional, calculating way he examined them.

 

“I think I’ll start out with this one,” Zack said as he drew a blade of medium thickness from one of the sheaths.  It was a broadsword, similar to what he’d used before he inherited the Buster sword.  “I was always more comfortable with this length and weight.”  He stepped back and balanced the hilt on the palm of his hand for a moment before giving the weapon an experimental twirl.  “Good sword,” he approved.

 

Cloud chose one of the thicker ones, avoiding his collapsible blade because he knew he’d end up using the customizable feature by instinct and he didn’t want an unfair advantage.  Zack noticed how his hand briefly hovered over it before changing directions and he smirked.

 

“You can use the cool one, buddy,” the black-haired fighter encouraged, “this is just practice, right?  Might do me some good to face a couple of surprises and get used to adjusting.”

 

Cloud hesitated and bit his lip.  “That’s a good point but you haven’t been back for long and you’re just getting into your element.  Maybe we should start off simple.”

 

Zack chuckled at him and rested the point of his chosen blade on the earthy floor of the barn.  “All the more reason for you to give me a _challenge_ , Chocobo-head.  We’ve only got one more day before we head into a real fight and those Deepground bastards aren’t going to cut me any slack.”  Zack reached out and cupped Cloud’s chin, forcing him to look him in the eye.

 

“Just trust me, Cloud.  Don’t baby me.  I won’t hold it against you if you kick my ass and I know you won’t hurt me, okay?”

 

Cloud nodded slowly and reached for the First Tsurugi.  “As long as you don’t think I’m trying to show off, I’ll go along with it.”

 

Zack smiled and let go of the blonde’s chin.  “You’re not the type to show off, hot stuff.  Confidence isn’t the same thing as arrogance and to tell you the truth, I’m proud of you.  You’ve come a long way from that shy, uncertain teenager I used to know.”

 

Cloud blushed with pleasure at the compliment.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

They dueled a few feet away from the barn, underneath a couple of big oak trees.  The workout allowed both men an outlet for their sexual frustration and soon, they’d fallen into an easy combat rhythm with each other.  Even though he was out of practice, Zack’s skills were better than many professional fighters.  Cloud took it easy on him at first, giving him a chance to get the feel of his weapon before using more aggressive tactics.  He could see the difference with each passing minute as he lunged, dodged, swung and parried against Zack.  The black-haired fighter was quickly gaining confidence and speed, his actions becoming steadily more graceful and skilled.

 

Before long, Cloud was forced to put his back into it.  The elite Soldier was emerging with each passing stroke and the blonde found it harder and harder to find openings and block his attacks.  It had been so long since he’d fought a swordsman with such formidable skills and Cloud was enjoying the growing challenge, even as he broke into a sweat and began grunting with exertion. 

 

Zack was likewise glistening with perspiration and grunting with effort and when he suddenly launched a flurry of blows at Cloud, the blonde knew he couldn’t afford to hold back any more.  He barely managed to fend off the rapid attacks and when they broke apart again, he decided it was time to get down to business.  He narrowed his sapphire eyes at Zack and launched a flurry of his own, making the other man swear.  Once he had him off-balance, Cloud popped the release on his sword and snapped it open to form two separate, smaller blades.  He went at Zack like a tornado of golden hair and flashing steel, weaving both blades in a spinning, deadly corkscrew.

 

“Ah, hell,” Zack panted. 

 

He felt the jarring vibrations up his arms to his shoulders as he blocked the attacks with desperate haste.  It was hard to keep up with Cloud’s assault and he knew he was leaving himself wide open for another one.  The blonde was damn good…but he’d already known that, since Cloud defeated Sephiroth twice.  Just as he feared, the smaller man’s attack abruptly stopped and Zack did his best to get his guard back up.  The attack he predicted didn’t come; instead, Cloud somersaulted right over his head, surprising him.  Zack whirled around but as he was finishing the move, Cloud’s leg swept out in a low arc and hit him in the back of the knees, knocking him off his feet. 

 

Zack’s weapon went flying into the grass and he landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him.  A moment later, Cloud was straddling him and he had his swords crossed over Zack’s throat.

 

“Okay, uncle,” Zack wheezed, holding his hands out in surrender.

 

Cloud withdrew the blades and set them aside on the ground.  He put his hands flat on the earth on either side of Zack’s head and gazed down at him with a little smile.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“No, you’re not,” Zack snorted.  “And neither am I.  Those were some ace moves you pulled there and I’m glad I got to see ‘em up close and personal.  Why the hell did they cut you from SOLDIER, again?”

 

“I was too small,” Cloud said with a shrug.  He settled more comfortably on top of the other man, enjoying the feel of him beneath him.  “So, you’re my prisoner now.  What do I do with you?”

 

“Forty lashes with a wet noodle?” suggested the black-haired fighter.

 

Cloud burst into soft laughter.  “No, I think I’ll settle for a kiss.”

 

“Hey, forty lashes with a wet tongue is even better,” Zack quipped, winking at him.

 

Cloud narrowed the distance between them and captured the other man’s lips.  Zack’s fingers wove into his hair and he returned the kiss, his mouth parting to let the blonde’s tongue in.  Cloud was a little surprised by the submissive gesture but he took the invitation, exploring the other man’s mouth with heated appreciation.  Zack demonstrated that he was just as good as the receiver as he was as the giver: adaptable to either role.  He sucked gently on Cloud’s tongue and lightly scraped his teeth against it, providing an interesting, tickling sensation.  Cloud groaned with arousal and deepened the kiss, stretching out on top of his companion and pressing his hips against Zack’s. 

 

Cloud wondered distantly which role Zack preferred to take in bed.  While he was allowing the blonde to dominate the kiss, he was subtly guiding the motions of Cloud’s lips and tongue and his hard body moved with a telling, yet gentle aggression.  Cloud admitted to himself that he was confused.  When it came to Reno, he preferred to be the seme and with Rufus it could go either way, but when it came to Zack his first instinct was to bottom.  He hoped he wasn’t reading the other man wrong.

 

Just as their kissing began to progress into making out, Cloud’s phone rang.  He grumbled a complaint and broke the kiss, sitting up to dig the item out of his pocket.  He looked at the number to see if he could ignore the call.  He couldn’t.  It was Cid’s home phone.  With a little sigh of regret, the blonde put the phone to his ear and answered it.

 

“Hey Cid.”

 

“How ya doing, kid?” the pilot’s rough voice was a little distorted and Cloud guessed that he had a cigarette in his mouth.

 

“Hanging in there,” answered Cloud.  He looked down at Zack and the black-haired man laced his fingers behind his head and relaxed, waiting in polite silence.  Cloud swallowed at the sensual vision, wishing he could just throw his phone into the bushes and attack Zack with his mouth and hands.

 

“So, did you get my message?” Cloud asked, trying to keep the husky note out of his voice.

 

“Sure did.  You can count on us, Spike.  The posse’s taking care of business so we can come help.”  Cid’s voice grew more aggressive.  “I can’t _wait_ to give those fuckers some payback for what they did to my Shera, anyway.  _Nobody_ blows holes in MY ship and gets away with it.  So, have you found out where the rats are hiding yet?”

 

Cloud winced, thinking of poor Cissnei.  “Some of them, yeah.  There’s a group of them somewhere in the Ancient Forest near Cosmo Canyon, but we don’t know how many there are.  Tseng’s organizing a strike mission to take care of them the day after tomorrow and Zack and I are going with them.”

 

“Shit,” Cid swore.  “Can’t make it there by then.  Yuffie’s got political shit to tie up before she can leave Wutai and I’ve gotta fine-tune Shera and get her weapons stocked.  Who the hell’s _Zack_ , anyhow?”

 

Cloud looked down at the man he was still straddling and a little smile found its way onto his lips.  “Uh, you might not believe this, but do you remember that friend I told you guys about, back when we were trying to track down Sephiroth?”

 

“You’ve gotta give me more than that, kid,” Cid answered, “We talked about a _lot_ of shit back then and that’s too vague for an old coot like me to figure out.”

 

“The guy that I got my memories confused with,” Cloud elaborated.  “Do you remember how I thought I was a First Class Soldier before I joined Avalanche?  Zack is the guy whose memories got meshed with mine.  He’s the guy that broke us out of Hojo’s lab and…and died protecting me from ShinRa when they caught up with us.”

 

“Yeah, that rings a bell,” replied Cid slowly.  Cloud could tell by the tone of his voice that the pilot was getting uncomfortable.  “Am I hearing you right?  Did you just tell me that guy’s going with you on this raid?”

 

“That’s right.”  Cloud smirked, imagining the perplexed look on Cid’s face.

 

“You’re not losing your marbles again are ya kid?  You know your pal’s dead and gone, _right_?”  A rare note of concern was rising in Cid’s voice.

 

“I’m _not_ crazy and Zack’s _not_ dead anymore,” Cloud said.  He looked down at Zack again and the other man had raised his dark eyebrows a little, interested in the conversation about him. 

 

“Oookay,” Cid drawled, “So you’re telling me your friend is back from the dead and ya want me to shrug it off, just like that?”

 

“Call Vincent or Tifa and ask them, if you don’t believe me,” Cloud sighed.  “It’s a long story but I’m telling you the truth, okay?  Just get here as soon as you can, Cid.  We still don’t know how many Deepground bases there are or how much they’ve built up their forces.  There could be a huge army of them somewhere and you know how good they are at hiding until they’re ready to attack.”

 

“I hear ya Cloud, but I’m having a real hard time swallowing this ‘Zack’ business,” Cid answered.

 

Cloud pressed his lips together with annoyance and reminded himself that the gruff pilot was only trying to look out for him.  Cid wasn’t the most lovable person on Gaia but he was loyal to his friends. 

 

“Tell you what,” Cloud negotiated, struck by a sudden inspiration, “I’ll take a picture of him right now on my phone and send it to you.  Will you believe me _then_?”

 

“Sure, kid.  I’ve got my cell charging right here next to the landline.”

 

“Okay, hang on.”  Cloud put the call on hold and browsed through the function menu on his phone.  He glanced at Zack as he selected the camera option and gave him an apologetic look.  “You don’t mind, do you?”

 

“Hell no,” Zack said with a grin.  “You know what a ham I am.  Take as many shots as you like, Chocobo.”

 

Cloud activated the camera function and started focusing on Zack’s face.  He sighed and lowered it.  “Zack, put your tongue back into your mouth and stop making goofy faces.”

 

The black-haired fighter chuckled.  “Aw, you’re no fun.”  He complied with the order with a sigh of defeat.  “So what kind of face should I be making?”

 

“Just a normal face,” Cloud said, trying to hide his grin.  He blushed faintly and lowered his eyes.  “I want my friends to see what I do when I look at you.”

 

Zack sobered, his amethyst eyes softening on the blonde.  “Okay Cloud.  No more goofy faces.  I can smile though, right?”

 

“Zackary Fair without a smile wouldn’t be right,” Cloud agreed, blushing further, “it would be like…like…”

 

“Spring without flowers?” suggested the former Soldier lightly.  “A dog without a bone?  A rainy day without a rainbow?  Sex without an orgasm?”

 

“Cut it _out_ ,” Cloud said tremulously as he fought a laugh.  “Just let me take the picture, okay?”

 

“You’re my captor, so I guess I’ve gotta do what you say,” Zack answered.  He smiled crookedly and saluted. 

 

Cloud quickly snapped a picture, finding the sexy grin and salute perfect for a photo.  He looked at the resulting snapshot and smirked.  _~My friends are going to shit themselves when they see this.~_

Cloud sent the captured image to Cid’s cellphone and switched back to the talk mode.  “Okay Cid, I sent the picture and you should get it any minute.”

 

There was a faint beeping sound on the other line as Cid’s nearby cellphone alerted that there was a new message.  “Yup, got it,” Cid confirmed.  “Let’s see…”  He went quiet for a moment as he looked at the image Cloud had sent.  “Huh…I’ll be damned.  ‘Course, this could just be some random guy but I don’t think you’d go that far to pull a prank.  How’d this _happen_ , kid?”

 

“I’ll explain it all when you guys make it to Junon,” Cloud said.  “It’s too complicated to explain over the phone and we’ve got a lot of training to cram in before the raid.  Will you pass the word around to the others for me?  I don’t want them freaking out when they meet him.”

 

“I guess I can do that for you.  I reckon we’ll make it there by the end of the week.  Don’t go killing all those Deepground bastards before I can join in, got it?  I’ve still got an itch to scratch and I want to use Shera’s guns to do it.”

 

Cloud smiled.  “The way things are going, there’s still going to be plenty to go around.  See you soon, Cid.”

 

Cloud ended the call and put his phone away with a sigh.  His stomach growled and he put a hand over it.  “I guess we should head down the road to that rest stop and get something to eat,” he suggested.  He would have loved to take up where he and Zack left off but there would be plenty of time for that later.

 

“I could go for some food,” Zack agreed.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

After securing the swords back in Fenrir’s compartment, they went a couple of miles down the road until they found the rest stop that Rufus had told them about.  It had a small deli, a convenience store and bathrooms.  They used the bathroom and washed their hands first before buying a couple of sub sandwiches, chips and drinks.  After they ate, they started to leave and Zack’s eyes were drawn to the little convenience store.

 

“Hey, I’m going to run in and get some bottled water to bring back with us,” Zack said to his companion.  “I don’t know about you but I get thirsty after I work up a sweat.”

 

Cloud nodded.  “Okay.  I’ll just wait by Fenrir for you.”

 

Zack hid a smile.  _~That’s perfect, because I don’t want you seeing what else I’m going to buy.~_

The black-haired fighter went into the convenience store and bought a six-pack of bottled water.  He looked around with a frown, trying to locate the other items he was after.  With a shrug, he went to the checkout counter and decided to ask the cashier about it.

 

“Hi, how are you?” Zack said with an engaging smile as the woman rang him up.  She returned the smile impulsively; charmed by him.  “You wouldn’t happen to have any protection for sale, would you?” Zack inquired.

 

The auburn haired woman looked a bit confused.  “Protection, sir?”

 

“Yeah,” Zack answered a touch uncomfortably.  “Condoms…do you stock them?”

 

She shook her head.  “I’m sorry, we don’t sell that sort of thing here.  We probably should but the store owner is kind of old fashioned.”

 

Zack sighed, but he gave her a good-natured shrug.  “That’s all right.  I’ll just take the water.  Oh, and some of these mints, too.”  He noticed some folded picnic blankets on the shelves behind the register and he figured it wouldn’t hurt to have something to lie on if he and Cloud had another make-out session.  “I’ll grab one of those little picnic blankets also.”

 

_~Dammit.  Unless Cloud keeps some protection on him we’re not going to have the option if things get too heated…unless we go bareback.  I know I’m clean and I’m sure he is too but wrapping the woody is the best way to be safe.  Here I was thinking it’s just about the right time, too.  Reno was right.  I HAVE waited long enough.  Shit, a year keeping my hands off him because of his age, four years stuck in a fucking test tube, then another five years separated from him by death. I’ve waited longer than anybody should ever have to wait to be with someone they love! ~_

It looked like he might have to wait just a little while longer, though.  He told himself that good things were worth waiting for and he could act on his decision tonight, after they returned to Headquarters and got cleaned up.  He was disappointed, however.  He had a silly, romantic picture in his head of making love to Cloud by the lakeside, with nothing but nature surrounding them.  It was probably a lot messier and less comfortable than he fantasized—what with the twigs and leaves and dirt and rocks and insects—but there was something about the thought of their first time being in a natural wild setting that appealed to him.

 

He smirked at his own silliness as he paid for his items.  What difference did it really make, whether it was in a bed or in the grass or on top of a mountain or even in the back of a car? 

 

_~It’s Cloud.  That’s what’s going to make it special…not the location.~_

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

They returned to the barn and climbed the ladder to the hayloft.  Cloud watched as Zack released his wings and spread them, stretching them experimentally and exercising them a little.  The black-haired man looked at the ground below and smirked.

 

“This is a lot less intimidating than jumping from the roof of a skyscraper,” Zack said wryly.

 

“And a lot less risky,” Cloud agreed.  “Maybe after you get the hang of flying you can try taking off from the ground.”

 

“I didn’t even think of that,” Zack mused.  “Hell, if Genesis and Angeal could do it with one wing I’m sure I’ll be able to do it with two.  I wish Angeal was around to give me some pointers.” 

 

He sighed heavily, thinking of the muscular First that had befriended him when he was still a beginner.  He got to hang out with him while he was in the Lifestream but now he wouldn’t be seeing him again until he finished living out this second life he’d been gifted with…unless Aerith found some way to give Angeal the ability to visit like she and Zack could do.  Very few deceased people could visit the loved ones they left behind; it took a special connection with the Planet that most people just couldn’t achieve.

 

“I’m sorry,” Cloud murmured sincerely.  He hadn’t known Angeal very well but he knew Zack was close to him and it had wrecked the dark-haired fighter when he was forced to fight and kill him. 

 

Zack smiled over his shoulder at the blonde.  “It’s okay, Cloud.  I know for a fact he’s safe and content, so it’s just my selfishness that makes me a little blue.  I’ve got you here with me and that makes it all right.”

 

Cloud returned the smile and Zack stared at him for a moment, thinking he had the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.  When he tore his eyes off of his friend and prepared to take a running leap out of the hayloft, he silently vowed to make Cloud smile as much as possible. 

 

_~Gaia, I love the hell out of this guy.  Always have.  I just want to kiss him all over and cuddle him and do other things I can’t say out loud without being accused of being a pervert.  Okay…think, Zack.  What are you doing?  Oh, right…getting ready to fly.  Hmm, I feel so good right about now I think I could almost do it without the wings…heheh.  Floating on a Cloud…oh yeah…that sounds nice.~_

Cloud watched his friend from behind and he was puzzled by the way Zack just stood there, staring out at the landscape.  “Are you okay?” Cloud asked, wondering if he was hesitating because he was afraid.

 

Zack jumped, startled out of his daydreaming by the inquiry.  “Uh, I just drifted into La La land for a minute.  I’m fine.”

 

Without waiting for his mind to kick into daydream mode again, Zack charged at the open loft doors and leaped, hooting with a mixture of fear and reckless exhilaration as he hurtled through the empty air.  He snapped his wings out and wobbled a little as he adjusted the angle, gliding toward the ground with decent control.  He flapped his wings cautiously and gained a little altitude, but he was heading straight for one of the nearby oak trees and he knew he was going to have to go higher to avoid flattening himself against the trunk.

 

“Watch out for the—” Cloud hollered.

 

Zack climbed higher and missed the trunk, but he hit the canopy and went through it with a string of curses and yelps.  The branches rustled and he shot out on the other side, spitting leaves.

 

“Tree,” finished Cloud with a sigh. 

 

Thankfully, his friend didn’t appear to be injured and he smiled with relief.  Zack banked to the left and circled around a little unsteadily, but he held onto his control and flapped his great wings, going higher and higher.  Cloud hooted with excitement and jumped out onto the hay pulley, clinging to the old rope as it reeled him down to the ground below.  He pulled the shaded goggles hanging around his neck over his eyes to shield them from the sun and he ran beneath his gliding friend, following him with shouts of encouragement.

 

After a little while, Zack landed in a bare field, only stumbling a little.  He smiled at Cloud as the blonde ran toward him, jumping and waving his arms with glee as he did so.  He hadn’t seen his friend so unrestrained and happy in years and it made his heart swell. 

 

“You _did_ it!  You kicked _ass_!” Cloud laughed as he closed the distance and threw his arms around the taller man impulsively.  He realized how he was acting and he flushed, embarrassed for letting himself go so much.  “I mean…uh…good work.”

 

Zack returned the embrace and chuckled.  “Nobody’s around to see you having fun, Cloud.  I’m glad you’re so happy about it and you don’t have to worry about hiding it from me.”

 

Cloud shrugged, unable to contain his smile as he averted his blue eyes.  “My friends wouldn’t recognize me if they saw me like this.”

 

“They don’t know what they’re missing,” Zack said seriously, sliding a hand under the blonde’s chin to guide his mouth to his for a kiss.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

Zack practiced for several hours, taking little breaks in between flights to refresh himself and chat with Cloud.  He was a little worried that the blonde would start getting restless and bored but Cloud seemed to enjoy watching him fly as much as Zack was enjoying doing it.

 

Eventually Zack got a little cocky and decided to try something a little more daring than simply flapping around.  Cloud watched with a puzzled frown as the black-haired man gliding above him flew almost straight up.  His confusion turned into concern as Zack kept going in an arc until he began to go upside-down.

 

_~What is he trying to do?~_

Cloud’s watched, his neck craning as his friend went up and over until he was behind him instead of in front of him.  He then realized that Zack was trying to do a loop, but he’d miscalculated his distance from the ground and he was now zooming in straight for Cloud at alarming speed, his angle too steep to control. 

 

“Oh, _SHIT_!”

 

Suddenly, Cloud was running away from Zack as fast as he could and from behind him, he heard Zack echo the curse that he’d just shouted a moment ago.  The frantic flap of wings grew louder as the black-haired man bore down on the fleeing blonde.  Cloud risked a glance over his shoulder and he saw Zack’s wide-eyed, terrified face just a few feet behind him.  The former Soldier was obviously trying to slow down but he’d gained so much momentum when he’d tried the stunt that he wasn’t succeeding.

 

“Cloud, _lookout_!” Zack shouted as he windmilled his arms.  “Duck or something, man!” 

 

Logic would have dictated that Cloud throw himself to the ground or zigzag out of the way, but it didn’t occur to him to do any of that until it was too late.  Zack couldn’t change directions and the back of his friend’s golden head filled his vision as he ran face-first into it.  Cloud’s hair was soft but his skull was pretty _hard_ and Zack’s eyes watered with pain as his nose took the brunt of the collision.

 

Down they went, in a tangle of arms, legs and wings.  The two men rolled in the grass and despite the pain shooting through his nose and cheekbones, Zack held Cloud tightly and did his best to wrap his wings around him to buffer his body and protect him.  They came to a ragged stop after a few feet and they lay there in stunned silence, panting heavily.

 

“You okay, Cloud?” Zack asked after a moment.  He ignored the sticky blood dripping from his nose and turned his friend in his arms, gazing down at him frantically for any signs of broken bones or other serious injuries.  The blonde seemed more shaken than anything else and his goggles were hanging lopsided over his face. 

 

“My head hurts,” complained Cloud softly.  He looked up at Zack and his eyes widened.  “Your _nose_!  Is it broken?”

 

“Naw, just bloodied and sore,” Zack answered as he gingerly felt along the bridge with his fingertips.  “I’m _soooo_ sorry about that, Goldie.  Last thing I wanted to do was dive at you like that.”

 

Cloud sat up and looked at him, more worried about his bloody nose than the throbbing pain in the back of his head.  “Here, I’ve got a first aid kit in Fenrir.  Let’s see to your nose first and then we can talk about what a boneheaded move that was.”

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

They staunched the flow of blood and Cloud took out one of the potions he had stashed in Fenrir for minor injuries.  He shared it with Zack and their minor injuries were healed.  More cautiously, Zack resumed his practice and Cloud watched with more alertness, ready to dive for cover if his friend lost control again.  By early afternoon, Zack had figured out how to take off from the ground.  Heavy cloud cover began to move in as the afternoon progressed and after another hour, thunder boomed overhead and lightning forked down in the distance. 

 

Cloud looked at the skies and frowned as the wind picked up.  He turned his gaze to the east, where Zack was flying.  The black-haired fighter swerved unsteadily and Cloud was just about to holler for him to come down when he evidently came to the same conclusion.  Zack flew toward Cloud and slowly touched down in front of him.

 

“Looks like the flying lesson’s over for today,” Zack said, his black hair blowing in the wind. 

 

“Yeah,” Cloud agreed.  “Maybe we should head back.”

 

Zack glanced over his shoulder at the barn.  He looked back at Cloud and thought it would be a shame to go back just yet.  They had shelter from the coming storm and if they waited it out in the barn, it would give them some alone time together.

 

“I don’t know if we should drive through a storm,” Zack said tactfully.  “Why don’t we just hang out inside while it passes over?  I’ve got that blanket we’ve been sitting on in the hayloft when we take breaks.  Hell, we could even take a nap or something if you want.  I don’t know about you but today kind of wore me out.”

 

Cloud considered the tempting idea and nodded with agreement.  “I like that idea.  It’s better than putting on a bunch of heavy rain gear and driving through a mess.”  He started for the barn and the clouds broke overhead before he could take two steps.  Rain began to pour down, drenching both he and Zack in seconds.  Zack caught him around the waist and pulled him tight against his body, making Cloud’s stomach do a flip.

 

“Put your arms around my neck,” suggested the dark-haired fighter. 

 

Too stupefied by the feel of Zack’s strong body pressing against his through their wet clothes, Cloud did so.  Suddenly he was being lifted and he muttered a surprised curse as Zack flew the short distance to the barn and through the open doors of the hayloft.  He landed on the dusty wooden floor and smiled at Cloud as he set him down on his feet.  Their bodies slid against one another as the blonde dropped and Zack sobered quickly, his groin pulling taut in his jeans.

 

“That was…neat,” Cloud said breathlessly as they broke away from each other.

 

“Maybe when I get the hang of it I’ll give you a real ride,” Zack grinned. 

 

Cloud flushed, thinking of something entirely different when the word “ _ride_ ” came up.  He started to respond but Zack shook his hair like a dog, splattering water droplets everywhere.  Cloud laughed and did the same.  They didn’t have a towel to dry off with so this was just going to have to do.  Zack finished shaking some of the water out of his hair and he walked to the blanket and sat down, patting it invitingly as he looked up at his friend.  His eyes roved over Cloud as the blonde approached and he took a moment to appreciate the way the wet material clung to his body.

 

_~Hmm, I think I’ll ask him if he’s got some protection with him…but first, I want to know why he kept getting the giggles every time I mentioned that Rufus reminds me of Lazard.~_

“So, are you going to tell me or not?” Zack asked once Cloud sat down beside him.

 

“Tell you what?” inquired the blonde with a look of confusion.

 

“Why you acted the way you did when I said Rufus looks kind of like Director Lazard.”

 

Cloud winced.  “I was hoping you’d forget about that.”

 

“Nope.  I’m too curious.”  Zack smiled at him.  “Hey, you know you can tell me anything, right?”

 

“I know.”  And he did.  Cloud heaved a sigh and tried to gather his thoughts, wondering where to begin.  “Okay, here goes.  You know how you told me to live for both of us when you were…dying?”

 

Zack nodded and lowered his eyes.  “Wish I hadn’t done that now.  That was an unfair burden for me to put on you.”

 

“It’s okay,” Cloud assured him.  “It’s in the past.  The thing is though…I kind of got some of your memories…even some of your skills.  For a long time I was mixed up in the head and my memories were all confused with yours.  I thought I was a First Class Soldier.”  He smiled ruefully and shook his head. 

 

“How the hell did I do _that_ to you?” Zack asked, his brows drawn together.  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

 

“Aerith told me your connection to the Planet must have somehow triggered the transference,” Cloud shrugged.  “You didn’t do it on purpose but it happened.  As for why I never told you, that look on your face right now is why.  I knew you’d beat yourself up over it and I didn’t want that.”

 

Zack swallowed and closed his eyes.  “Cloud, I’m sorry.  I—”

 

“Shhh,” the blonde interrupted.  “I told you, I’m okay now.  The thing is…um…I got something _else_ from you too.  I know how to…do something…that I couldn’t remember ever being taught.  Reno asked me about it and when I told him I couldn’t remember where I learned it he got worried that I’d been…you know…abused or something.  I started worrying about that too but this morning I got a flash of memory and I realized the thing I could do came from you.”

 

Zack had a look of concentration on his face as he tried to crack the blonde’s coded explanation.  He shook his head and gave up after a moment.  “What is this ‘ _something_ ’ you’re talking about, Goldie?  What does it have to do with…with…Lazard… _oh, no_.  Wait a minute…Cloud…did this memory of yours…uh…”  Now it was his turn to be embarrassed as he began to understand what his friend was trying to tell him. 

 

“Were you and Lazard fooling around?” Cloud asked softly, confirming the black-haired fighter’s fears.

 

“Oh _shit_ ,” Zack muttered.  “Your special mystery ability wouldn’t have anything to do with tantric sex techniques, would it?”  His face was turning as red as Cloud’s and when the blonde nodded silently, he groaned and hid his face in his hands.

 

“Holy _hell_ , that’s not exactly the kind of thing I’d want to pass on!”  Zack shook his head and swore at himself, imagining his sweet, innocent friend coming out of his Mako-induced catatonic state with _those_ images floating around in his head.  “I mean, sure…I’d teach it to you _now_ but not back then, when you were so…so…”

 

“Take it easy,” Cloud murmured, his own embarrassment fading.  “The actual memory didn’t pop up until this morning, so you didn’t accidentally molest me or anything like that.  I just… _knew_ how to do it and I could never explain why until I got that flashback.  That’s why I acted like that when you said Rufus reminded you of Lazard.  It meant I wasn’t just imagining it and I was happy, because I was starting to wonder if someone forced me and I just couldn’t remember.”

 

Zack moved his hands away from his face and looked at him with a sigh.  “You’re not freaked out about it?”

 

Cloud shook his head.  “A little embarrassed to talk about it, but not freaked out.  It isn’t like I thought you never had a sex life, Zack.  I just didn’t realize it wasn’t with women.”

 

“Uh…yeah,” Zack said uncomfortably.  “About that…I guess I should tell you now that I’m bi.”

 

Cloud blinked, but the surprise was very mild.  Of course Zack was bisexual…it made sense with the way he flirted with everyone.  It had been more shocking to find out he went for men at all than it was to hear he also went for women. 

 

“You okay with that, Cloud?” Zack asked, searching his eyes.

 

Cloud nodded.  “Yeah, I’m okay with it.  It makes sense, after all.”

 

“I’m not going to run around sleeping with chicks and other guys,” Zack informed him, his expression serious.  “It’s all _you_ now.”

 

“But…I can’t expect you to…not when I’m in the kind of relationship I have,” Cloud stammered.

 

Zack shrugged.  “I don’t mind.  I just don’t want you thinking I’m a total dog, Cloudy.”

 

“I’d never think that,” Cloud answered.  “If anything, I’m the dog here.”

 

“Bullshit,” Zack scolded.  “You were already in your relationship when I came into the picture and I know you’re happy with it, so I’m not going to try to get in the way.  I just want in too, if you’ll let me.”

 

Cloud nodded.  “I want you.  I think Reno does too, even though he hasn’t said it out loud.”

 

“You think so?”  Zack sounded a little surprised.  Thunder boomed overhead and he and Cloud jumped a little, startled by the noise.

 

“Yeah.  I know him better than he thinks I do.  It’s up to you guys to figure out what you want to do about that.”

 

“I just thought he was flirting for _your_ sake,” the black-haired fighter murmured.  “Hmm, that gives me something else to think about.”

 

Cloud chuckled.  “We can worry about that later.  I want to know where YOU learned that trick from.”

 

Zack looked sheepish.  “I kind of borrowed one of Tseng’s books…without telling him.  I brought it right back when I was finished but that’s where I learned it from.”

 

Cloud’s mouth fell open.  “You nabbed a sex book from _Tseng_ and you didn’t get caught?  And, if Tseng knows how to do that, why hasn’t he ever done it to Reno?  I’m sure I’d have heard about it if he had!”

 

Zack thought of how passionate the redhead in question was and he smirked.  “Maybe Tseng had the good sense not to tempt fate.  Let’s face it Cloud…Reno’s sex on a stick.  Get him too over stimulated and it would be like lighting a brush fire.”

 

Cloud bit his lip and flushed.  “I guess I don’t have Tseng’s good sense, because I used it on him.  We both lived through it, though.”

 

Zack laughed heartily at that and put an arm around him.  “So you’ve got more guts than our Wutaian friend.  Do me a favor though…don’t _ever_ tell Tseng I borrowed his book, okay?  I don’t know what he’d do to me…the guy acts all laid back but I’ve seen him in action before and he’s one Turk I wouldn’t want to piss off.”

 

“I hear you,” Cloud said with a smirk.  He’d always had the same impression of Tseng and he understood Zack’s concern.  “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

 

“Thanks, Chocobo.  Now, gimme a kiss.”

 

  Cloud gladly did so and Zack’s mouth was hot and insistent against his.  The passion in the other man’s kiss made Cloud’s body sing with need and he pushed his fingers into Zack’s damp hair and kissed him harder.  Zack’s hand slid up Cloud’s back to his shoulder and he gently urged him to lie on his back.  Cloud did so and Zack followed, settling his body on top of the blonde’s.  His thigh pressed between Cloud’s legs and the smaller man pushed his hips up with wanton arousal, grinding his hardened bulge against Zack’s leg.

 

The interior of the hayloft was lit up by a nearby flash of lightning and Zack held Cloud tight as he waited for the inevitable clash of thunder.  It struck, loud enough to make the building vibrate and Cloud’s soft yelp of alarm was muffled by Zack’s mouth.  The larger man’s strong, protective hold on him was reassuring and eased Cloud’s instinctive tension.  He wasn’t exactly frightened of storms—he’d ridden through them plenty of times.  It was the loud noise that bothered Cloud.

 

Zack’s mouth left his and kissed its way over his jaw to his ear.  His teeth nibbled the sensitive lobe and Cloud groaned and clutched at the other man’s shoulders, bunching up the clinging material of Zack’s shirt.  He opened his eyes and looked up at the wings hovering over him.  The water had rolled off of the white feathers without actually wetting them and they were the only dry part of Zack’s body.  Cloud admired them even as Zack’s nibbles made him tingle all over. 

 

“I can’t stand it anymore,” Cloud panted, sliding his fingers into Zack’s hair to tug at it and make him lift his head.  When the blue-violet eyes looked down at him questioningly, Cloud blurted his honest feelings.  “I don’t want to wait anymore, Zack.  I want you now.”

 

Those sinfully appealing lips parted and those gorgeous eyes darkened with lust.  “I want you too,” Zack murmured. 

 

The sensual timber of Zack’s voice made Cloud’s swollen cock twitch in his pants and he bit his lip to fight a moan.  Only Reno had ever gotten him this hot, this fast.  He imagined what it would be like with the two of them at the same time and Cloud wasn’t sure he’d survive such an encounter.

 

“Do you have anything on you?” Zack asked hopefully. 

 

Cloud’s expression froze.  Since getting involved with Reno, he normally carried some protection on him but he couldn’t remember grabbing any this morning before he and Zack left.  “Hold on a sec,” he breathed as he squirmed beneath his companion and began searching the pockets of his cargo pants. 

 

He found his phone, his wallet, his keys, a buck knife and a utility knife, but no condoms or lube.  “ _Goddammit! Fuckedy-fuck-fuck!_ ”

 

Zack would have cursed with frustration as well, if he weren’t so shocked by hearing such a vehemently uttered, vulgar string of curses explode from those sweet, kissable lips.  He began to chuckle before he could help himself.  “Kiss your mother with that mouth?”

 

“It’s not funny,” Cloud fumed.  “I _really_ want you and I don’t have anything on me!”  Only when he was at his most passionate was Cloud so brutally honest, without embarrassment.

 

“It’s okay,” Zack tried to soothe, though disappointment was eating him up inside as well.  “We can head back to Headquarters as soon as the storm clears up.”

 

Cloud shook his head.  “No, I can’t wait that long.  I swear I’m clean and I know you weren’t with anyone while your body was in that tank.  Can’t we just go without?”

 

Zack had been considering the very same thing earlier.  “I’m clean too,” he murmured.  “After what happened to Cissnei, I thought I had the doctors test me.  There’s no telling what Deepground might have done to me while they had me in their custody and I wanted to be sure.”  He gave Cloud a soft, brief kiss and looked into his eyes.  “Are you sure, Cloud?”

 

Cloud stared into his eyes and slid his hands under Zack’s wet shirt, feeling the tight muscles of his stomach and chest.  “I’m positive.  I want you inside me.”

 

Zack swallowed and his body trembled with the force of his desire.  He shoved aside the fear that he might be so out of practice he’d disappoint Cloud and he lowered his mouth to his for another kiss.  He took his time with it, fencing with Cloud’s tongue and nibbling his lips until the blonde was panting before he drew back and looked him in the eye again.

 

“Anything you want, sexy.”

 

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-To be continued  


	11. Chapter 11

“Alliance”

Chapter 11

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**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

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Cloud was addicted to the smell, taste and feel of Zack.  The trace of sandalwood that Cloud had always detected on the other man’s skin teased his sense of smell.  His lips were warm, coaxing and skilled.  His body was firm, powerful and confident as it moved against his.  The sound of the rain, the flash of lightning that occasionally lit up the interior of the hayloft and the rolling thunder added a wild element to the encounter.  Cloud briefly caught himself entertaining the thought that Ramuh was blessing this occasion and he almost cracked a smile at his own fanciful notion.  He was too enamored with his companion’s kisses touches to give into humor.

 

His shirt was dragged over his head and tossed away first.  Zack’s hands were stroking his stomach and for the first time, the blonde realized they weren’t callused, as they should be.  In fact, he could feel blisters forming on the palms from the untried skin being subjected to rigorous swordplay.  He kept forgetting that Zack was using a new body—untried and unscarred. 

 

“Mph, wait,” Cloud murmured against Zack’s lips, “those blisters are going to hurt if they break open.  Let me get you another healing potion.”

 

Zack shook his head and trailed seductive, tender kisses over the blonde’s jaw and neck.  “Don’t worry about it.  They’re not bad yet and until my new skin gets toughened up they’re going to keep coming.  I don’t want to think about anything except _you_ , right now.”

 

Cloud couldn’t find the breath to argue as Zack’s lips made their way down his chest and tugged on a nipple.  His eyes fluttered shut and he arched against the other man, weaving his fingers into the disheveled black hair.  He moistened his lips with his tongue and sighed Zack’s name, blissfully appreciative of the patient aptitude the other man demonstrated.  He felt the hard length of Zack’s arousal pressing into his leg as the black-haired fighter’s tongue swirled around the nipple until it was a tight little bud of sensation.  Zack moved onto the other one and gave it the same loving attention before migrating further south. 

 

Cloud hadn’t even realized that Zack was working on the fastenings of his pants until the larger man pulled them down over his hips.  He looked down to see Zack close his teeth over the elastic waistline of his underwear and tug it down, exposing his swollen erection to the damp air.  Cloud’s breath caught at the sinfully arousing action and his cock pulled even tighter, the cap glistening with a bead of syrupy fluid.  Zack’s heavy lidded gaze went to the organ before roving up Cloud’s body to settle on his face.  The slow, sexy smile he gave the blonde promised incredible pleasure and Cloud suddenly understood his intentions.

 

“I don’t know if I can _handle_ that, Zack,” the blonde fighter moaned, guessing that he was about to experience the method that had turned Reno into a screaming, whimpering heap.  He would have liked to think he had more control over himself than the redhead, since Reno seemed to be naturally sensitive to sexual stimulation.  Right now though, he was burning up with desire and his nerve endings were ultra alert.

 

“Won’t know until you try,” the black haired fighter purred.  “But don’t worry, I’m not going to do it just _yet_.  First I want to get us out of these clothes.”  Zack sat up and caught hold of one of Cloud’s legs, lifting it and bending it so that his foot was resting on his thigh.  He removed Cloud’s shoes and socks one at a time before pulling the blonde’s pants and undies off.  He grinned down at his now naked friend and admired his compact, toned body.  When Cloud tried to sit up to help him out of his clothes, Zack put a hand on his stomach and ordered him to hold still a minute.  The blonde flushed as the dark-haired man took a couple of moments to just drink in the sight of him.

 

“Don’t know why your face is so red,” Zack murmured huskily, his eyes traveling over the tight muscles of Cloud’s chest and stomach to the crisp patch of golden hair surrounding his genitals.  He admired the sight of the flushed, stiffened cock and sighed.  “You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about, Goldie.”

 

Cloud sat up again and Zack didn’t stop him this time.  He knew that if he took the time to think he’d start getting nervous, so he kissed the black-haired fighter and started tugging on his the black t-shirt that was clinging so deliciously to Zack’s torso.  He realized his dilemma when the other man’s wings impeded his progress.

 

“Can’t get it _off_ ,” Cloud grunted in frustration.

 

Zack blurted a laugh at the blonde’s impatience and he reached down to still his eager hands.  “Hold up a sec, I’ll retract them.”

 

“Wait,” Cloud said on sudden inspiration, “what happens if your shirt gets caught on them while you’re doing that?  Won’t it get pulled in with the wings?”

 

Zack grimaced at the thought.  “Can’t have that happening.  I’ll tell you what; why don’t I turn around and retract them slowly.  You keep an eye on it and tell me if the shirt starts getting dragged in with them, okay?”

 

Cloud nodded in agreement and the black-haired fighter twisted around to present his back to him.  The muscles in Zack’s shoulders tensed a little and the wings began to retreat.  Cloud watched with interest, for while the wings did snag the torn material of the shirt surrounding them as they went in, the shirt itself only pressed against Zack’s skin.  It was like his body rejected anything but the wings. 

 

“It’s safe,” Cloud declared.  “The shirt isn’t going in at all.”

 

The wings retracted more quickly, until there was no evidence of them except for the two ragged tears in the back of the shirt where the smooth skin of Zack’s back showed through.  Cloud immediately grabbed the garment by the hem and helped Zack lift it over his head and off.  As soon as the black-haired man turned around again, Cloud was practically in his lap and kissing him eagerly. 

 

His enthusiasm was like a drug to Zack.  He returned Cloud’s kisses with steamy exuberance, stroking the blonde’s tongue with his own.  Cloud’s hands explored his shoulders, chest and stomach, the fingers tracing the thin line of hair that started beneath his navel and grew thicker and wider further down toward the pelvis.  When the questing hands reached the waist of his jeans, they stopped to unbutton them and tug the fly down.  Zack cupped his companion’s naked ass and growled softly with arousal as Cloud squeezed his aching bulge experimentally.  Now the blonde was the one teasing and Zack just wanted his dick freed and touched by those skilled hands.

 

“Cloud,” the black-haired fighter’s voice was rough and needy as he squeezed the delightfully firm, silky mounds of the blonde’s bottom. 

 

“Hmph…paybacks are a bitch,” Cloud smugly hummed against his mouth with a soft smirk.

 

“You vengeful little _mutt_ ,” Zack grunted.  He lifted Cloud suddenly and lunged forward, pinning the blonde on his back.  Cloud’s naked thighs were spread open as Zack’s pelvis settled firmly between them and the black-haired man rewarded his smaller companion for his teasing with a kiss that was much more aggressive than any he’d given him so far.  Cloud’s muffled exclamation of surprise wasn’t lost on Zack and he reined his lust in, determined to make their first time perfect for the blonde.  He wasn’t about to free the beast on the one he’d been wanting so bad for so long…at least, not until Cloud asked him to.

 

Zack gentled his kiss, resuming the coaxing, seductive motions of his lips and tongue as he ran his hands all over Cloud’s eager, damp body.  He was vaguely thankful that he hadn’t worn tighter jeans.  The mood would have been a little spoiled if he and Cloud had to play tug-o-war getting a pair of snug, wet pants off of him.  The thought of clothing gave him an idea and the reached out for Cloud’s discarded garments, bundled them up and put them under the blonde’s head for a makeshift pillow.  Zack broke the kiss and eased off of the blonde, sitting up between his spread legs.

 

“Don’t move,” he ordered as he started untying his shoelaces.

 

“Yes _Sir_ , Lieutenant,” Cloud said with a teasing smirk.

 

“You’ve never really _seen_ the Lieutenant, Private,” Zack warned with a blue-violet glance that said he was only half-kidding. 

 

Cloud felt a shiver of excitement go through him at the tone of Zack’s voice and he was again reminded of what had drawn him so strongly to Zack besides his charm and engaging sense of humor.  It was that _confidence_ and authority of his, too.  Other men made him uneasy when they used a commanding tone on him, but with Zack it was just plain sexy—probably because of how deeply he trusted him.

 

 Cloud watched his companion remove his shoes and his gaze settled on the bulge between Zack’s legs.  His eyes widened and he swallowed when he saw the top of his friend’s rigid cock peeking out over the open zipper, almost reaching the waistline.  No wonder Zack had gotten cross when he’d teased him…the guy was probably sore from the constraint.  Cloud surmised that Zack was hung almost as well as Rude…if not equal in size.  He hadn’t seen Rude’s package since the ill fated party that ended in an orgy of Turks but he remembered how impressed he’d been with the bald man’s length and girth.

 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to make _you_ mad,” Cloud murmured before he could stop himself, his eyes fixed on the partly exposed organ.

 

Zack put his shoes and socks aside and he glanced up at the blonde’s tone.  He followed Cloud’s fixed blue gaze and chuckled a little.  “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Chocobo-head,” he promised.  “You’ve never made me mad in the entire time I’ve known you and even if you ever did, I’d never, _ever_ hurt you—especially not when we’re doing this, okay?”

 

 “I know,” Cloud said with a suddenly shy smile.  “I was just making an observation.”

 

 Zack shrugged.  “It’s all about how you use it, hot stuff.  Since you’ve got someone like Reno wrapped around your finger you must already know that, though.”

 

Cloud blushed again.  “I guess.”

 

Zack chuckled and stretched out on top of the smaller man.  “You’re too modest,” he said as he planted light kisses on his lips.  “Red’s had a reputation as a horny little devil for years but everyone knows he’s got discriminating taste.  Something made him keep you around long enough to fall for you and I don’t think it was late night, meaningful discussions.”

 

Cloud grinned, unable to refute his friend’s logic.  “Guess I’m not too bad in the sack,” he murmured.

 

Zack waggled his eyebrows at him.  “Never doubted it, sexy thing.  Even when you were a small, bashful teen I knew you’d be a tornado in bed once someone pushed the right buttons.” 

 

He kissed him again, more deeply than the light smooches he’d been giving him a moment ago.  Cloud betrayed himself with a soft moan and Zack rubbed his partly exposed cock against the blonde’s, reveling in the sensation.  Cloud’s hands grabbed the belt loops of his jeans and tugged down on them desperately, making Zack laugh into his mouth with delight.

 

“Here, let me get these things off,” the black-haired man said as he released his companion’s mouth again.  He rolled off of Cloud and wriggled out of his damp jeans.  Now entirely naked, he turned back to his companion and started to stretch out on top of him again, but he paused when he saw the quick flash of nervous uncertainty in Cloud’s eyes as they fixated on his erection again.

 

“You act like I’m hung like a mule, Chocobo,” Zack murmured with gentle amusement.  “It’s not _that_ big.”

 

“I’ve only been with two guys this way and you’re bigger than both of them,” Cloud blurted.  He looked up at Zack’s face again and flushed.  “Sorry, I’m not trying to put off a ‘scared virgin’ vibe.  I just…we don’t have any lube.”

 

“We can make our own lube,” Zack informed him softly, “and like I said before, I’d never hurt you.  I promise if you feel any pain, I’ll stop right away.”

 

Cloud had a feeling he knew what Zack meant about “making their own lube” but he couldn’t be sure, so he kept silent about that.  He gave the other man a sheepish smile, feeling bad for acting so skittish.  This was Zack…HIS Zack.  The man had faced down a damned army to protect him and Cloud felt like an ungrateful brat for worrying, even for a moment.

 

“I’m sorry,” Cloud said.  He reached out for him invitingly, wanting to feel that smooth skin and hard body against his again. 

 

Zack couldn’t resist the sweet, silent invitation.  He smiled down at his friend as he covered his body with his once again and he nuzzled the blonde’s neck with fond tenderness.

 

“You need to quit apologizing,” he whispered it Cloud’s ear, nibbling it briefly to provoke a shiver.  “I understand.  Really, I do.  Just try to relax and go with it, Cloud.”  He kissed his throat, licking off the sparse moisture he found still clinging to the soft skin.  Cloud’s lips parted and he sighed with pleasure, inadvertently giving Zack the signal that he could move on. 

 

Zack took his time, running his hands over Cloud’s body and following up with his lips.  The blonde skimmed a hand down his stomach to curl his fingers around the girth of his sex and Zack let him, giving him the chance to get the feel of him before he went further.  His breath quickened with pleasure as the callused hand gripped him with just the right pressure and stroked up and down his length.

 

“That feels great, baby,” Zack sighed against Cloud’s collarbone. 

 

Cloud grinned in spite of himself.  “I thought Reno was the only guy that used that word.”

 

Zack glanced up from the appealing chest and throat he was kissing.  “What, ‘baby’?”

 

The blonde nodded.

 

“Well, sometimes when I get hot and heavy I babble a little,” Zack chuckled huskily.  “Did I say it wrong or something?”

 

Cloud shook his head and stroked the tip of the other man’s impressive cock, making him gasp.  “Nothing like that.  It sounds hot, coming from you.”

 

“You know what’s hot?” Zack queried breathlessly.  At Cloud’s questioning look, he answered; “what you’re doing to me… _that’s_ hot.”  He groaned through his teeth as the blonde’s skillful massage made his groin and pelvis throb with pleasure. 

 

He regulated his breathing as he resumed his exploration of Cloud’s body, confident that he could prevent himself from having a “misfire” as long as he stuck to the techniques he knew.  The real danger was that Cloud would get him too horny to control himself.

 

~I’ll let him play for a little while longer but I haven’t been laid in…uh…shit, how many years has it been now?  No wonder I feel like I’m ready to pop!  Can’t let him fool around too much or I’ll just lose my head and bang him silly instead of giving him something special.~

 

Zack began to move his hips in time with Cloud’s strokes and he panted Cloud’s name and shook his bangs out of his eyes, bringing his lips to the blonde’s for another kiss.  He began to thrust his tongue in and out suggestively and he felt the wet tip of Cloud’s erection rub against his thigh. 

 

“You’re good with those hands,” Zack groaned when he pulled his mouth away again.  He felt his balls tighten warningly and he hissed through his teeth and sucked in a couple of rapid, sharp breathes.  He reached down to still the blonde’s hand and shook his head.  “No more for now, Sunshine.  I’m riding the edge here, okay?”

 

Cloud silently complied, his breathing labored and his face flushed with passion as he gazed into Zack’s eyes.  The black-haired fighter smiled painfully at him and gave him another soft kiss on the lips before sliding down the length of his body and pushing his thighs further apart with his hands.

 

“W-wait,” Cloud begged, understanding Zack’s goal.

 

“Shhh, it’s going to be okay,” Zack soothed.  He gripped the base of Cloud’s erection to hold it steady and he pushed his lips over the cap, swirling his tongue against tiny, salty urethra opening in the tip.  Cloud tensed and Zack hummed around the silken flesh, making the blonde’s breath catch and causing his back to arch.  He saw one of Cloud’s hands grasp a fistful of the picnic blanket from the corner of his eye and his confidence grew.

 

“Oh no,” Cloud moaned, biting his lip as Zack’s teeth nibbled the most sensitive part of his cock.  He’d always wondered what it felt like and he realized now that Reno hadn’t just been over-dramatizing his reactions to this method to pump his ego.  Cloud was chagrined to realize that soon he might end up screaming as loudly as his redheaded lover had when he’d done this to him.  Director Lazard must have been a man of greater discipline than he thought: to have endured this without anything louder than a moan.

 

Zack eased up when he heard the growing volume of Cloud’s whimpers.  There was such a thing as giving _too much_ stimulation and he didn’t want it to become unbearable.  He just wanted to give Cloud a good, hard orgasm for now, before he took him.  They could try more intense things later—this encounter was about bonding and expressing the love he felt.  He stopped teasing the slit in the glans and sucked the length of Cloud’s shaft into his mouth, curling his tongue around the underside and stroking with it as he went.  Cloud’s tension eased and he released his breath in a soft moan of appreciation.

 

Zack would have smiled if his mouth weren’t occupied.  Even though he knew his friend was experienced in erotic pleasures, even though he knew he’d killed when he had to, somehow Cloud Strife was still innocent to him.  The gratitude that the blonde expressed with his body language when Zack gentled his technique and the soft, sighing moans that continuously rose in his throat were magical to him.

 

He debated on whether to give Cloud a tantric orgasm first and he almost opted to just go for a full release, but he stubbornly reminded himself that a little more waiting wasn’t going to kill him.  He wasn’t sure if he could still do it but he was sure as hell going to _try_.  He went easy on him, only stimulating the most sensitive spots briefly, just enough to make Cloud’s body shudder a bit.  He worked his mouth over the blonde’s stiffened flesh with loving care, taking it down his throat and swallowing to give the whole length a massage, following up with teasing nibbles and licks, turning his head this way and that for different angles.  Cloud was humping his mouth helplessly and tossing his head before long and Zack knew he’d succeed at his goal if he kept it up.

 

Cloud couldn’t focus his vision, he felt so good.  Back in his academy days, if someone had told him that Zack Fair was an expert at giving blowjobs he wouldn’t have believed them for a second.  He wouldn’t have believed someone like Zack _liked_ sucking cock, let alone excelled at it.  Now it was all Cloud could do to keep from shouting his name at the top of his lungs.  He felt an orgasm approaching and he tried to warn his companion, not wanting to take him by surprise.

 

“Z-Zack…I’m…I’m about to come,” Cloud panted.

 

“Mmm,” came the humming reply.  Zack’s mouth didn’t slow or stop and one of his hands reached under the organ he was sucking on and massaged Cloud’s balls.

 

The other man’s response caused vibrations against the sensitized skin of Cloud’s sex and it sent him over the edge.  He closed his eyes and gripped the blanket tighter as he began to buck in Zack’s mouth.  A long, loud groan burst from his parted lips and if he weren’t in the throes of sexual bliss, Cloud might have been embarrassed by the volume and needy tone of his voice.  He shook with pleasure even as he realized that there was no mess to go with his orgasm.  Now that he knew what it felt like, he was a little surprised Reno hadn’t gone wild and attacked him after he’d done it.  The climax wasn’t localized to his groin and pelvis—it pulsed through his whole body.  It wasn’t as intense or relieving as a regular orgasm but it felt heavenly.

 

Zack silently congratulated himself on a job well done and kept going, swallowing the twitching organ to massage it with his throat muscles until the spasms ended.  He resumed the rhythmic strokes of his mouth and tongue after that and eased his hold on the base of Cloud’s cock, ready to give him full relief.  He released the plump orbs he was fondling and stroked the blonde’s heaving ribcage with his hand as he bobbed his head up and down.  Cloud had released his hold on the blanket and his fingers were now combing through Zack’s hair, encouraging and grateful.

 

“Feels so amazing,” Cloud breathed, his tension mounting again as Zack’s attentions made the pleasure grow once more.  His breath quickened again and he started to moan softly as the familiar tightening returned between his thighs.  “Unh…fuck….again,” Cloud grunted, yanking his hands out of Zack’s hair to support himself on his elbows. 

 

This time, Zack allowed the tightening cock to slide out of his mouth and he stretched out on top of Cloud and kissed him deeply as he stroked him off hard and fast with one hand.  The blonde’s cries were muffled against his lips as Cloud came.  Zack felt the warm spurt of his companion’s seed against his stomach and he nibbled Cloud’s lips and smiled, pleased with the impressive amount he was producing.

 

~That should be more than enough.  I just hope Cloud doesn’t freak at what I’m going to do next.~

 

Cloud collapsed when it ended, his head falling back against his bundled clothes and his sapphire eyes blank and heavy-lidded with the afterglow.  He felt Zack’s hand scrape some of the mess off his stomach and he didn’t think anything of it until he glanced down and saw the other man spread it over his own impressive erection. 

 

“Oh, I get it,” Cloud murmured breathlessly.  He’d assumed Zack would do something of the sort but he wasn’t sure until now. 

 

“You okay with it?” Zack asked, pausing to look at him.

 

“I’d better be, if I want this to happen,” Cloud said with a little smile.  “It came from me in the first place and it’s all we’ve got.”

 

 “Best natural lube in the world,” Zack agreed with a wink.  “Are you ready, Sweetums?”

 

“Don’t call me that,” Cloud huffed in annoyance.  “I can put up with some of your nicknames but that’s going overboard.”

 

Zack laughed and bent over to plant a kiss on one of Cloud’s thighs.  “Just checking to see if you’ve got enough wits to consent.  So, _are_ you ready?”  He resisted the urge to squirm impatiently.  Gaia, he wanted him so _bad_.

 

Cloud looked him in the eye.  “I’ve _been_ ready.”

 

That was all the incentive Zack needed.  “Prop your legs on my shoulders,” he purred.

 

Cloud did as he asked and Zack folded his legs under him and scooted closer as he reached between the blonde’s thighs.  He gently stroked the exposed, puckered ring of pink flesh with his slick fingers and it tightened for a moment before Cloud consciously relaxed.  The inviting way the blonde loosened up told Zack that he was very ready and willing for this.  He rubbed in gentle circles for a few moments, until the area softened to his satisfaction.  He eased the tip of one finger in and pushed, studying the smaller man’s youthful features as he breached him.  Cloud’s teeth worried his lower lip and he quivered a little around the digit, but he didn’t resist him.

 

“I’m serious now,” Zack said softly.  “You tell me if I hurt you at all, Cloud.”

 

The blonde looked up at him trustingly and nodded.  “I will.”

 

Zack slid his finger in up to the knuckle and stroked inside searchingly.  He felt a familiar, firm lump against his finger as he curved it toward Cloud’s bladder and he rubbed gently, back and forth.  The blonde’s shuddering gasp told him he’d found the right spot and Zack withdrew his finger and eased it back in, stroking across the gland in passing.  The clenching around the digit eased and Cloud moaned his name.  He kept repeating his actions with steady, slow deliberation, waiting for just the right moment to add a second finger.

 

Cloud’s golden lashes fluttered and his mouth was slightly open as he sighed, moaned and pleaded for more.  This certainly wasn’t the first time he’d experienced prostate stimulation but Zack was doing it with such tender, patient care that it was like a new experience for him.  His cock stirred as the other young man’s ministrations continued and before long, it was fully swollen again.  Cloud reached down with his hands and rubbed Zack’s naked outer thighs, enjoying the feel of the powerful muscles under his palms.  There was nothing hurried about this…it was tranquil and easy and it felt safe and natural.

 

“Do you have any idea how pretty you are?” Zack murmured.

 

Cloud was feeling too good to be more than slightly annoyed at his choice of words.  His eyes remained shut as he sighed, “Girls are pretty.  Guys are hot or cute or sexy or handsome.”

 

“But you’re more than all that,” Zack insisted, his husky voice tinged with amusement.  “Any guy can be ‘handsome’.  You’re like…way too good looking for such a dull word.”

 

“Quit being a dork,” Cloud chuckled.  He moaned softly immediately after that, his cock glistening with precum as the other man rubbed his gland again.  “God, Zack…you’re too _good_ at this.”

 

Zack grinned down at him.  Cloud didn’t even seem to notice that he was using two fingers now instead of one.  It was encouraging that he’d managed to do it smoothly enough without causing any discomfort.  “Only the best for my Chocobo,” he said.

 

Cloud couldn’t be certain how much time passed before Zack finally withdrew his fingers, but when he felt the other man’s naked cock pressing against him he wriggled with impatient lust and looked up at him with demanding blue eyes.

 

“Quit procrastinating, Fair.”

 

“Hey, who’s the Lieutenant here, Strife?” Zack shot back with a wink.

 

“Nobody,” Cloud argued.  “We’re both defectors, remember?  You’re not my superior anymore.”

 

Zack gave him a wicked smile.  “We’ll see if you’ve still got that attitude when I’m through with you.”

 

“So teach me a lesson, already!”  Cloud was visibly frustrated even though he was smiling.  A light sheen of perspiration had sprung up on his skin and a blush of passion stained his fair cheeks.

 

Zack wasted no more time.  He rocked forward and filled the blonde with his aching length, slowly and steadily.  Cloud’s head fell back and his breath exploded from his mouth with a low cry.  His eyes went blank and he wondered just how deep Zack could go before he was finally in all the way.  The black-haired fighter didn’t stop and ask if he was hurting him, obviously content to leave it up to Cloud to say so if he was.  It didn’t hurt and it wasn’t even uncomfortable, really.  It was just…intense.  The stretching, the hardness, the heat of him…Cloud was sure he was going to die right then and there. 

 

His nerves screamed with pleasure as Zack’s rigid flesh slid against that spot inside of him and Cloud whimpered like a slut and grabbed the other man’s ass desperately.  He tried to say Zack’s name but he couldn’t even form it on his tongue and he didn’t have the breath to speak.  Zack bent over him, pushing his legs further back and apart as he filled him completely.  His mouth brushed softly against Cloud’s, the lips lovingly kissing his and murmuring something that Cloud couldn’t comprehend.  Language deserted Cloud completely and when Zack started pulling back out, he clutched at him desperately and shook his head.

 

“I’m coming right back, Cloudy,” Zack gasped with amused pleasure.  He kissed those soft, shapely lips and retreated to the tip before driving slowly back in.  He almost stopped in surprise at the utterly wanton sound of Cloud’s resulting moan.

 

~I thought Reno was exaggerating a little bit when he told me you liked it slow and easy, Goldie.  Never thought you’d react this strongly and it’s going to drive me crazy before long.  Gotta keep control so I don’t ruin it for you.~

 

Zack covered Cloud’s mouth with his and slid his tongue in, caressing the moist heat of his mouth as he began to rock back and forth with steady, supple motions.  He groaned at the sensations, having never experienced this without a condom before.  It was more pleasurable and more intense and he understood for the first time why some people took stupid risks and ended up with an unwanted pregnancy or an STD to deal with. 

 

His wings burst free abruptly and Zack didn’t bother trying to draw them back in.  Cloud opened those pretty eyes of his and gazed up at him with so much pleasure and feeling in his expression that it made Zack want to stay like this forever.  He smiled down at him and whispered his name, his wings arching over the two of them as he gently pumped in and out of the blonde’s tight heat. 

 

“Are you okay?’ Zack murmured huskily as Cloud whimpered and moved his hips from side to side.

 

Cloud nodded and put his arms around Zack’s neck, drawing his head down for another kiss.  His mouth was hot and desperate as it moved against his and Zack closed his eyes and concentrated hard as he felt himself reaching orgasm.  His body shuddered and he contracted inside of Cloud, gasping and panting over the blonde. 

 

Cloud shut his eyes and licked his lips at the feel of the thick organ pulsing within him.  He wasn’t disappointed that Zack came so soon…hell, the guy had waited long enough for his own release.  He waited, expecting to feel his friend’s seed filling him and wondering what it would be like without a barrier.  Zack’s slow thrusting continued and Cloud’s eyes flicked open with confusion.  He stared up at the other man, trying to regain his power of speech.

 

Zack purred with pleasure and opened his eyes again.  He noticed the bewildered look on Cloud’s face and he smiled at him.  “What’s wrong?” He panted.

 

“You…you’re…” Cloud swallowed another moan, his eyes rolling with pleasure as the other man’s dick pressed against his internal gland.  “Still hard,” he finished shakenly.

 

Now Zack was puzzled, too.  “Yeah,” he gasped.  “Thought you said you knew about the tantric stuff?”

 

Cloud shook his head, his sapphire eyes going wider.  “Nuh-uh!  N-not about…this!”  His breath caught and he whimpered, getting closer and closer to what he knew was going to be an explosive orgasm.

 

Zack realized then that Cloud had only gotten _part_ of his knowledge.  “Well,” he said huskily, “The oral’s only part of it, sexy thing.  Might as well buckle up, Cloud.”

 

“Shit,” Cloud groaned, and his arms tightened around Zack’s neck as he started coming hard.  He sucked in another ragged breath and let it out again in a long, unbroken moan that grew louder and louder.  One of his resulting spurts was so strong that some of his seed shot far enough to hit him in the chin.  He couldn’t feel embarrassed about it though…all he could feel was the clash of ecstasy overwhelming his senses and he held tightly to Zack.  He wasn’t even aware that he was crying out so loudly and the thunder only partially drowned out his ragged voice.

 

“Oh, Cloud,” Zack groaned shakenly, kissing his arching throat with loving sweeps of his mouth.  He cupped the back of the blonde’s head and held him to his chest, closing his eyes as the smaller man’s cries of pleasure shivered over his skin.  He kept pumping his hips with smooth, steady strokes and when Cloud’s trembling eased and his cries died away, he pulled back to look down at him.

 

“I love you.  Always have.”

 

Cloud didn’t have the breath to speak but he reached up and traced Zack’s parted lips with his fingers and he put all of his feelings behind the look he gave him in return.  Zack smiled, apparently getting the message.  He lowered his mouth to Cloud’s again and kissed him deeply.  Cloud slid his hands over Zack’s broad shoulders until he felt the base of his wings.  He stroked the feathers with awe and Zack shivered.  Realizing it gave him pleasure, he combed his fingers through the soft feathers, feeling along the base of the wings and familiarizing himself with the structure.

 

“Whoa, that’s doing something funny to me, Cloud,” Zack gasped as tingles raced up and down his spine. 

 

Suddenly, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to concentrate enough to stay in a tantric state, if his companion kept petting his wings like that.  Cloud’s clever fingers continued to push through the feathers, stroking and kneading back and forth along both wings, as far as he could reach.  The blonde lifted his head and pressed soft kisses over Zack’s chest and clavicle, further unraveling his control.

 

“Cloud,” Zack panted, his thrusts quickening slightly.  “Careful there, Sunshine…I’m…I’m getting kind of…”  The fingers stroked with deliberate sensuality now and Zack bucked hard into the pliant body he was claiming, making Cloud gasp sharply.  “Baby, I’m warning you,” Zack panted, his face breaking out into a sweat with the effort to maintain control over his urges.

 

It was rolling over him then and Zack’s body snapped taut as he used all his willpower to channel his energy.  Amazingly, he won the battle and though he orgasmed hard enough to see black spots, he didn’t spill himself.  Cloud’s soft kisses were like little pieces of paradise against his skin as Zack trembled over the blonde and moaned throatily.  His feathers ruffled and his wings spread out and shivered as sensations coursed through them as well.

 

_~Uh, okay…I think my wings just came, too.~_

 

Cloud was enthralled.  He stared up at Zack’s tense, gorgeous features and the huge span of ivory wings above them both as he continued to caress the trembling, feathered limbs.  He whispered Zack’s name and sighed at the feel of his cock bucking inside of him. 

 

“I want you to come,” Cloud murmured, finally able to speak coherently again.  “I mean _really_ come.  I want to feel you spill inside of me.”  He blushed hotly, surprised that he’d managed to say all of that without stammering.

 

“Good,” Zack panted as he recovered from the intense climax.  “’Cause I’ve gotta tell you, I can’t keep this up much longer.  Especially if you plan on giving my wings another hand-job like that.”  He laughed breathlessly and bent his head to kiss the blonde, running his tongue over his lips before pushing it in and stroking inside of his mouth.  Cloud returned the kiss passionately, his hands ceasing their explorative caress of his wings to rub his shoulders and back.

 

Impassioned by Cloud’s creative lovemaking, Zack eased the blonde’s legs off of his shoulders and put his arms around him.  “Come here,” he encouraged breathlessly as he started rocking back and took Cloud with him.  The smaller man held onto Zack’s shoulders and did as he was urged.  He ended up sitting in Zack’s lap, with his legs wrapped around his waist and the larger man’s cock still nestled firmly inside of him.  Cloud moaned and his groin began to tighten again.  Zack supported his back with one arm and reached down with his free hand to grip his sex.  He stroked it gently, making it harden faster.

 

 “Have your way with me now, Goldie,” Zack offered in a sexy drone.

 

Cloud smiled at him and sighed with pleasure.  “I’ve never ridden anyone before,” he admitted softly.

 

“Never?”  Zack was surprised, given the hip action Cloud had demonstrated earlier.

 

Cloud shook his head and lowered his gem-bright eyes.  “I’ve only bottomed a few times so I’m kind of new at this role.”

 

  Zack smiled encouragingly.  “Well, you were doing a good job of riding me from the bottom.  Just give it a try and see how you like it.”  With his thumb, he circled the velvety knob at the tip of Cloud’s erection and he twitched inside of the blonde with excitement as Cloud bit his lip and moaned.

 

“Okay,” Cloud gasped.  “I’ll try.”  He shifted hesitantly in the other man’s lap, rolling his hips with an experimental thrust.  He moaned again as the motion caused him to slide back and forth on the thick, hard organ.  It felt good and he tried again, closing his eyes in concentration.  Zack’s free hand cupped one of his hips and gently guided him a little, helping him find an angle and rhythm that worked best for him.

 

Zack’s breath caught as the blonde steadily got the hang of it.  Cloud was good…damn good.  He seemed to have a natural talent for pelvic thrusts and his snug passage slid up and down Zack’s rigid flesh deliciously.  He studied the smaller man’s enraptured features and he knew with certainty that the next time he came, there was going to be some cream with it.

 

_~Yup, I’m going to blow my load for sure this time.  He’s too damn hot and sweet and tight around me.  Feels so damn good, I don’t know how I went for so long without sex and stayed sane!~_

Zack unconsciously embraced Cloud with his wings, pulling him closer and draping him with protective, soft feathers.  He moved his gripping hand up and down the blonde’s erection, drawing moans and gasps from him.  The storm outside died down as the two new lovers rocked against each other, kissing and gasping with delight.  The setting sun broke through the clouds, casting orange and pink light into the open hayloft.

 

Had anyone happened by and seen the two men, they would have thought that an angel had flown down from the heavens and claimed a mortal lover for his own.  At least, that was the impression Cloud got when Zack’s wings parted again and the blonde drank in the sight of him.  The warm rays of sunlight bathed Zack and reflected on the white feathers, making the black-haired man almost appear to glow.

 

“I love you,” Cloud said in a shaken whisper.  He’d been unable to speak the words earlier when he wanted to but now they tumbled out of his mouth effortlessly, even though he hardly had the breath to speak.  Zack’s amethyst eyes were soft and intense on him and that irresistible smile of his curved his lips.  Cloud’s peak struck him fast and he cried out, embracing Zack tightly as he came.

 

Zack clenched his jaw and groaned heavily as Cloud’s gripping heat clenched rhythmically around him.  He pushed deep into him and tilted his head back as he followed him into the final burst of pleasure.

 

Cloud parted his lips and examined the sensation of feeling Zack’s semen spurting into his body.  He’d thought it would feel weird…at least messy…but it felt _great_.  He laid his head on the other man’s tense shoulder and closed his eyes, enamored with the sensation.  Zack’s chest rose and fell heavily against his as his orgasm played out.  He’d released Cloud’s spent sex and he put his arms around him and held him close.

 

After several minutes of blissful afterglow, Zack spoke.  “Could this _be_ more perfect?  Look, Cloud.  There’s a rainbow.”

 

 “Stop teasing me,” Cloud mumbled sleepily.

 

“I’m not!  There’s _really_ a rainbow outside.”

 

Cloud lifted his head off of Zack’s shoulder and followed his gaze.  He blinked.  There really _was_ a rainbow!  It was arching over the distant hills, spanning the sky where the storm had retreated.

 

“I’d almost think that was set up by someone,” Cloud murmured.

 

Zack kissed his neck.  “Don’t be such a pessimist.  Rainbows happen all the time after a storm.  Pretty cool timing and location, though.”  He smiled at the blonde.  “You don’t think this was perfect?”

 

Cloud’s face relaxed into a soft smile as well and he nodded.  “Yeah.  Couldn’t have been better.”

 

They remained in their embrace and watched the sun go down, treasuring the moment and the experience they’d shared.  No matter what happened with Deepground and the rest of the world, they’d always have this one, perfect experience.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

    


	12. Chapter 12

“Alliance”

Chapter 12

~**********************************~

* * *

The time inevitably came when they had to drag themselves away from one another, clean up as best they could, get dressed and return to Junon.  Zack held Cloud tight as the blonde drove the two of them back into city limits and to headquarters.

 

When he parked Fenrir in the company garage and cut the engine, Cloud turned around in his seat to give Zack a deep, lingering kiss.  He slid his fingers into the other man’s tangled, ebony hair and put all his feelings into the kiss; grateful beyond words for the experience they’d shared.  The unreasonable fear that he’d wake up in the morning only to find it was all just a wishful dream was eating at Cloud.

 

Zack sensed the fear in his companion as Cloud broke the kiss and started to turn around.  He put his arms around him to stop him from getting off the bike and he nuzzled his neck. 

 

“It isn’t like we can’t be together,” Zack whispered into his ear.  “Why did you just kiss me like it’s going to be the last time you do it?”

 

“You picked up on that, huh?” Cloud murmured, lowering his eyes.

 

“I know you, Chocobo,” Zack answered gently.  “Just like you know me.”

 

Cloud sighed and rested his hands over Zack’s.  “I still have nightmares,” he admitted, “about when you died.  What if all of this was just a dream and I wake up tomorrow back in Edge, and you’re still dead?”

 

Zack smiled but he didn’t laugh, understanding that Cloud was genuinely afraid.  “I get why you’re worried about that, Cloud.”  He urged the blonde to turn around and face him again and when he did, he cupped his face and looked into his eyes.  “I promise you, when you wake up in the morning I’ll still be here.  In fact, I can be lying right next to you, if you let me stay with you tonight.”

 

“I’d like that,” Cloud whispered, his blue eyes soft on him.  “I think I should tell Reno though, just so there won’t be any surprises.  He’s been great about this and I don’t want to give him a reason to feel neglected.”

 

“I think that’s the honorable thing to do,” Zack agreed, just as Cloud knew he would.

 

~*******************************~

 

They were going to get cleaned up first but both men caught the smell of food drifting from the cafeteria on the same floor as they entered the building from the parking garage.  Cloud’s stomach growled loudly and Zack’s echoed in sympathy.

 

“Food first,” Zack insisted as he put a hand over his stomach.  “I don’t care if we smell like a barn, we’ll grab a table out of the way if we have to.”

 

Cloud smiled faintly at him, amused as always by the taller man’s passion for eating.  Zack wasn’t an _over_ eater…after his first initial cravings for his favorite fast food were satisfied he’d quickly balanced his diet and he never ate more meals than a guy of his size required.  He was just enthusiastic about it when it was time to eat.  Tifa said he just had a healthy male appetite but she hadn’t seen him nearly choke himself to death on a hamburger, either.

 

They walked to the cafeteria and Cloud wasn’t really surprised to see Reno and Rude in there, selecting their evening meal from the buffet.  He and Zack approached and the blonde felt unreasonably nervous as his redheaded lover spotted him and smiled.

 

“Hey Blondie.  Why don’t you and Wolfy sit with us?”  His blue-green eyes roved over both of them slyly but his tone remained casual.  “Looks like we’ve all had a rough day.”

 

Cloud glanced down at himself and grimaced.  There were a few grass stains on his clothes from when Zack accidentally tackled him but he was surprised Reno was able to spot them on the dark outfit.  He nodded in consent to Reno’s offer and grabbed a plate, hungrily eying the array of foods set out under the heat lamps.  He shared a nod of greeting with Rude before he began selecting food and putting it on his plate. 

 

Both he and Rude had some trouble deciding but Reno and Zack made their choices quickly and soon, both of them had full plates and were claiming a table for all of them.  Cloud felt a little uneasy about the two of them having a chance to talk alone before he could get there, but he shrugged it off and figured with things already pretty much out in the open, no real harm could be done.

 

Reno studied Zack as the two of them sat down at one of the tables in the corner of the cafeteria.  The black haired man opened his bottle of juice and glanced at him, noticing his interest.

 

“Sorry if I stink,” Zack apologized.  “We spent most of the day dueling in a field and I had a couple of mishaps while I was getting the hang of flying.”

 

Reno smiled slowly.  “What happened to your shirt?”  He reached for the salt and pepper to sprinkle some over his food.

 

“My wings happened,” answered the former Soldier ruefully.  He looked down at the shirt and sighed.  “I liked this one, too.”

 

Reno nodded and started cutting up his steak.  “That’s gotta suck.”  He glanced up at Zack and smirked.  “I knew you’d crack sooner or later, yo.”

 

Zack coughed, nearly choking on the bite of spicy chicken he’d just put in his mouth.  He chewed and swallowed, looking at the Turk with amazed, blue-violet eyes.  “Okay, I want to know how the hell you do that,” he said when his mouth was again clear of food.

 

“It’s a gift, man,” Reno shrugged and grinned.  He speared a piece of meat with his fork and dipped it in the little cup of gravy he’d gotten with his meal.  “I can smell sex from twenty yards away and both you and Blondie have that scent all over you.  Sweat, cum, pheromones…it’s kinda turning me on.”  His long eyes were sultry on Zack, hinting that he wasn’t joking about the smell’s effect on him.

 

Zack was chagrined to feel his face heat up and he cast a quick look toward the buffet to see how Cloud and Rude’s progress was going.  They were both approaching the cashier to pay for their meals, so he didn’t have long to talk before they joined he and Reno at the table.

 

“Okay look,” he said in a low voice, leaning over the table to address Reno.  “Cloud wants to talk to you about this.”

 

“About _what_?” Reno asked with honest curiosity.  “I already told ya both, I’m fine with it.  I was rooting for you to get lucky, in fact.  Why do we have to keep going into it?”

 

“Well, he’s not totally convinced,” explained the black-haired fighter.  “He’s really loyal to you and he just wants to make sure you aren’t pretending to be okay with it.  Are you pretending, Reno?”

 

The redhead considered the question as he put the bite of meat in his mouth and chewed.  He gazed at Zack levelly and shook his head, swallowing before answering.  “No.  I’m not pretending.  Promise.  Wanna know why, hotshot?  I mean, the bald-faced truth?”

 

Zack nodded.

 

“’Cause telling him he can’t be with you would be like him telling me I can’t be with Rufus.”  Reno smiled a little and there was nothing conniving or crafty about it.  “You were his first love.  You were there before me and the two of ya got separated before you ever got the chance to be together.  I may be a lot of things, Fair…but one thing I’m not is unsympathetic.”

 

Reno looked a little uncomfortable and he cleared his throat and shrugged again.  “Besides, I’m pretty selfish.  I want to make sure he sticks around, ya know?  If I get in the way of you two I’ll just push him away from me.”

 

Zack stared at him.  “You aren’t selfish.”

 

Reno gave him a confused look.  “Did ya hear what I just finished saying?”

 

“I heard,” the former Soldier nodded.  “You play it like it’s all about keeping him close but I can see through that.  What you really want is his _happiness_.  Tell me I’m wrong.”

 

Reno averted his eyes uncomfortably.  “Well, I don’t want him _sad_ ,” he admitted softly.

 

“And you’re putting your own worries on the back burner to make sure he’s happy,” Zack informed him with confidence.  “That’s the opposite of selfish, Foxy.”

 

The redhead glanced up at the nickname and smiled crookedly, finding it to his liking.  “Okay, so I’m a fucking saint,” he murmured.  “Just don’t go spreading it around, yo.  Word gets out that I’m going soft, I’ll be dodging more bullets than ever.”

 

“They won’t hear it from me,” Zack promised with a chuckle.  “Just do me a favor and don’t embarrass Chocobo-head when he sits down to eat.  You know how low his blush factor is and if you start spouting off that he smells like sex, he might decide to bolt and we’ll end up with a Cloud-shaped hole in the wall to pay for.”

 

Reno burst into laughter at the mental image of Cloud charging right through the wall to escape embarrassment.  “You watch too many cartoons, Zack,” the redhead snickered.

 

~**********************************~

 

After finishing their meal, Cloud asked Reno to go with him to his room for a little while and Zack went straight to his to get cleaned up.  Rude told Reno that he’d meet him at his place—which eased Cloud’s concerns that the redhead would feel neglected over Zack spending the night with him.

 

“Okay Blondie,” Reno said as soon as Cloud shut the door behind them, “What do you want to talk about?”

 

“Zack and I slept together today,” Cloud blurted.

 

Reno raised his eyebrows and tried hard not to laugh.  “You ‘ _slept_ ’ together?  Two hot guys with a major hard-on for each other, all alone in a barn with nobody around for miles, and all ya did was _sleep_?”

 

Cloud grimaced.  “I didn’t mean literally…I meant we had sex.”

 

“So tell me something I don’t know,” Reno shrugged.

 

“I just thought I should tell you.”

 

“And I appreciate it.”  Reno dropped the mask of indifference and grinned at him, shaking his head.  “Come on, Strife.  How many times do I have to tell ya I’m not jealous of the guy anymore?  What’s it gonna take for you to quit worrying about it?”

 

Cloud lowered his eyes and sighed.  “I don’t know.  Maybe I just need to get used to it.  You told me once that I was a lot like Rufus when it came to you and outsiders.  I’m not jealous of him or Rude or Tseng but I wouldn’t like it if you had sex with someone besides them or me.  Maybe I’m just projecting my own stupid jealousies on you.”

 

“Hmph…I didn’t even _think_ of that,” Reno said.  Cloud had a habit of getting random moments of clarity that seemed to come out of nowhere.  “Of course, I _did_ act like a possessive shit there for a while when he first showed up.  I guess I fired the starter pistol on this one.” 

 

Reno closed the distance and put his arms around the blonde, smiling at him.  “Do me a favor.  Don’t worry about it anymore.  It’s real touching that ya wanted to tell me right away but I’d already said it’s okay and it’s not my business what you guys do with each other…or _too_ each other.  Not that I mind hearing about it but I know you don’t like advertising the juicy stuff, baby.”

 

Cloud nodded, his expression relaxing into wary relief.  “He’s going to stay the night with me,” he murmured.

 

Reno rolled his eyes.  “What did I _just say_?  Ya don’t have to tell me every little thing you and Fair do!”

 

“I know,” Cloud replied, “I just wasn’t sure if you wanted to get together tonight and I wanted you to know he’ll be here.”

 

“Oh,” Reno said.  “Well, that’s cool.  I’m staying over at Rude’s tonight anyhow.  We haven’t had much personal time for each other lately so I’m gonna plow him through the wall.”

 

Cloud sputtered with laughter before he could stop himself. 

 

Reno grinned at him and shrugged.  “Hey, I never said _I_ wasn’t going to talk about spicy details…just that _you_ don’t have to.”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud said when he regained control of himself, “You talk about that stuff enough for both of us.”

 

Reno drew closer and leaned in for a slow, sensual kiss.  Cloud returned it and when they broke apart, both men were breathing unsteadily. 

 

“Well now Rude’s _really_ in trouble,” Reno murmured with a wink.  “I’ll see ya tomorrow, Blondie.”

 

As the redhead turned to go, Cloud thought of something else he needed to tell him.  “Reno, wait.”

 

Reno stopped and turned around again to give him a questioning look.

 

“Uh, when Zack and I…neither of us had anything with us, so we had to go without.”

 

The Turk frowned.  “Gimme a sec to translate that, baby.”  He went over Cloud’s clumsy words in his head and guessed.  “What, like protection?”

 

Cloud nodded, looking a little guilty.

 

Reno almost went into lecture mode, being a staunch believer in safe sex even if he _was_ reckless and irresponsible in other areas.  However, he reminded himself that Zack had been in a tank for Gaia knew how long and Cloud was clean.  In fact, it made him wonder why anyone in their little circle of lust bothered using condoms with each other.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” Reno said thoughtfully, his auburn brows furrowed.  “I mean, Zack’s been dead for years and unless they tossed a mermaid in that fish tank with him to molest him, I don’t think he’s had the chance to get anything.  You’ve only been with me and Rufus…right?”

 

Cloud snorted. 

 

“Yeah,” Reno answered his own question with a chuckle.  “My bashful bombshell…you ain’t the type to fuck around with strangers…even if you and I _did_ start out as a one-night stand.”

 

“That was _your_ doing,” reminded the blonde.

 

“Sure was,” Reno agreed.  He chewed his lip thoughtfully.  “So, what was it like?”

 

Cloud shrugged and blushed, his eyes going faintly dreamy before he could lower them.

 

“That good, huh?” Reno smirked.  “Maybe there’s something to that.  Well, don’t lose sleep over it, baby.  We might have a pretty wild arrangement according to some people but at least we all stick with each other.  I’ll bet we’re safer than most singles out there.”

 

With a last, flirtatious wink, the Turk took his exit and left Cloud wondering if he’d inadvertently started a trend within the circle.

 

~**************************************~

 

Zack came knocking on his door shortly after Cloud showered and changed into his sleep pants.  The blonde chastised himself as his heart leapt the minute he opened the door and let his old friend and new lover in.  One thing remained consistent that he foolishly thought would change after they had sex: A smile from Zack Fair still made him feel a little giddy.

 

“Tifa said to tell you ‘hi’,” Zack told him as Cloud shut the door behind him.  “I ran into her in the hallway when I left my room.  She’s going to shoot some pool with Elena.”

 

Cloud was a little surprised.  “Tifa’s hanging out with Elena?”

 

“Why not?” Zack shrugged.  “She’s got to get out sometimes too and Elena seems like a pretty nice chick.”

 

Cloud smirked.  “Maybe I’m still remembering the time she tried to deck me at Icicle because she thought I stabbed Tseng.”

 

“If you thought someone stabbed one of your pals, wouldn’t you want to deck them too?”  Zack reasoned.

 

“Probably.  Actually, I know I would.  When Sephiroth hurt you and Tifa…” He broke off with a frown.  He hadn’t meant to bring up sour memories.

 

“You ran him through,” Zack finished with a nod.  “That’s why Hojo was so interested in you.  The ‘shrimp’ of SOLDIER beat his prized experiment, when nobody else could.”  Zack lightened the mood with a bright smile.  “Don’t hold it against Elena, Cloud.  Even when people are on opposite sides of the fence, they’re still basically human and most of them have their reasons for what they do.” 

 

Cloud studied the taller man with silent admiration.  Zack had always had a way of empathizing with people.  A yawn surfaced before Cloud could catch it and he covered his mouth and mumbled an apology.

 

Seeing him yawn made Zack do it too and the sable-haired fighter laughed when he finished and shook his head.  “Those things are contagious.  We wore ourselves out pretty good today, Chocobo.  What do you say we lie down and watch some TV?  I don’t know about you but I think I’m going to be out like a light before too long.”

 

Cloud nodded empathetically and motioned for Zack to come with him into the bedroom.  The taller man took his shoes off first and set them by the door before joining him.  Cloud reclined on the bed and switched the television on, surfing through the channels for something decent to watch while Zack undressed to his boxers and reclined next to him.  The blonde considered his companion sidelong and thought about his hidden wings.

 

“Maybe tomorrow we should see about having a special set of combat gear made for you,” Cloud suggested.

 

Zack raised his eyebrows.  “Hey, that’s a pretty good idea you’ve got there.  I’m going to need some kind of body armor but I might need to use my wings when we raid that Deepground camp, too.”  He ruffled Cloud’s hair playfully and grinned.  “You come up with the best ideas out of the blue, featherhead.”

 

Cloud’s tiny smile betrayed his grumble of annoyance as he pulled away from the affectionate gesture.  “People always sound so surprised.  Nobody thinks Rufus is an airhead and he’s blonde too.”

 

That made Zack chuckle.  “Rufus doesn’t have that sweet, innocent face and big blue eyes to go with the blonde stereotype,” he reasoned.  “People just think you’re off in your own world a lot of the time, is all.”

 

Cloud sighed and stopped changing channels when he found a sitcom.  “They aren’t exactly wrong.”

 

Zack sobered and his shaded blue eyes were sincere on him as he studied his face.  “It’s been harder for you than I thought.  After the things that were done to you…”  He pressed his lips together and looked away, afraid that if he said too much he might trigger memories that might still be blessedly buried, deep in Cloud’s subconscious.  He had no way of knowing how much Cloud could or couldn’t feel when they were being experimented on by Hojo.  Zack himself had drifted in and out and though it took four years for him to be able to act, he had witnessed things that would haunt him forever.

 

“Zack?” Cloud looked at the black-haired fighter with concern.  Zack’s expression had gone from light to grim and disturbed.  Cloud had never allowed himself to think about what all had been done to him when he was helpless and catatonic, but he began to realize that his friend might have seen some of it.

 

Zack’s eyes went to Cloud’s naked torso.  He could see the faint, thin scar from where Sephiroth’s blade had impaled the blonde that day at the reactor.  He used to have an almost identical scar himself, from the same weapon.  He’d also noticed the two similar scars on each side where Cloud’s shoulders met his torso, both also caused by the same blade under different circumstances.  Strangely though, there were no scars visible where Hojo had opened him up and had a look inside.  Either the sadistic man had done something to close the skin back up so completely that it didn’t scar, or Zack couldn’t trust those foggy memories.

 

“Zack, you’re starting to worry me.”  Cloud’s voice spoke more urgently now.

 

The former Soldier snapped out of it and blinked at his companion.  He tried to smile at him but he faltered and by the look on Cloud’s face, he wasn’t fooling him. 

 

“What did you _see_ while we were in that lab?”  Cloud whispered.  He’d never asked just what had roused Zack enough for him to break free and fight his way out, protecting Cloud all the while.  It had always hurt too much to think about it, once his memories returned from the Mako poisoning.

 

“I’m not sure what I saw and what was just my mind playing tricks on me,” Zack answered honestly.  He met Cloud’s eyes and held them.  “It was enough to motivate me to grab you and get the hell out of dodge, in the end.  I couldn’t stop him from…you were _helpless_ and…” 

 

“Hey,” Cloud murmured as a shiver passed through his body, “don’t do that, okay?”  He muted the television and scooted closer to the other man, completely understanding his emotions because he’d felt the same horrible guilt when he helplessly watched Zack walk away from him for what he had thought was forever. 

 

Zack cleared his throat to ease the lump in it and he threw an arm around Cloud and pulled him close, nuzzling his hair.  “Sorry, Cloud.  I started thinking about what you must have gone through after all that and it just sort of blindsided me.”

 

Cloud put an arm around Zack’s chest and lay his head on his shoulder.  “Try not to think about it.  It’s over now.”  He tilted his head back and brushed his lips against the spot on Zack’s neck under his ear, making a shiver of delight pass through the other man’s body.  He put his lips over Zack’s earlobe and tugged gently, deciding to change the subject.  “Hmm, your ear stud is gone.  I almost forgot you used to have one here.”

 

Zack’s eyes were unfocused from the effect of Cloud’s lips pulling at his left earlobe.  “Huh?  Oh, that.  Yup, I’ve got hole-free earlobes to go with my smooth new skin and girlishly soft hands.  Say, why don’t you pierce it for me, cutie-pie?”  He dragged himself out of the morose mood he’d been sinking into and gave the blonde a sidelong smile. 

 

“You want _me_ to do it?”  Cloud looked dubious.

 

“Sure.  You did your own, as I remember.  It can be like you’re branding me.”  He waggled his eyebrows at the blonde.

 

Cloud snorted.  “You’re not a piece of livestock I bought, Zack.”

 

“No, but I’m yours, right?  Come on, I don’t have any of my old battle scars and it’ll make me feel a little more at home in this body if I’ve at least got a stud in my ear again.  I’m not saying we have to do it tonight but maybe when we finish taking care of the Deepground base, you can pick something out for me and poke it in there.”

 

Cloud bit his lip and a blush quickly spread over his face and down his neck.  Zack made the simple act of piercing an earlobe sound so…sexy.  He even wanted him to choose the _stud_?  The sable-haired fighter’s gaze was steady and earnest on him as he considered the suggestion.

 

“We could do that, if you really want to,” Cloud finally made himself answer.  He’d hardened in his pants and he shifted, trying to hide it from his companion out of embarrassment that he’d gotten hot over such a thing.

 

Zack glanced down and saw the bulge forming in the blonde’s pajama pants.  He smirked, endeared and amused by how bashful Cloud was about it.  He was starting to pitch a tent himself, but Cloud hadn’t looked below his chest yet and noticed it.  He slid his free hand under the blonde’s chin, tilting his head back gently.

 

“I want to,” he murmured before lowering his mouth to those parted, tempting lips and kissing them.  He’d meant to keep it chaste because they had another long day of training and practice ahead of them tomorrow, but the feel of the blonde’s mouth against his proved stronger than Zack’s will.  He slid his fingers into Cloud’s soft, feathery hair and deepened the kiss.  The smaller man responded with a delightful lack of restraint, accepting Zack’s tongue eagerly and brushing his own against it as it caressed inside of his mouth.

 

“ _Oops_ …bad time.”  A soft, feminine voice suddenly said.

 

Cloud’s eyes popped open wide and he broke away from Zack with a gasp.  Aerith’s slightly transparent form stood at the foot of the bed and as he ogled her, Cloud learned the interesting fact that spirits could still blush.  She was backing away and covering her eyes with one hand, while making a warding gesture with the other.

 

“I’m sorry!” She said, “I shouldn’t have come here…I should have met you in your dreams!”

 

“Aerith?” Cloud sputtered stupidly.

 

Zack made an exclamation of startled surprise and in an unheard of moment of modesty, he yanked the covers up over both he and Cloud, hiding their partially clothed and aroused state from the ghostly Cetra’s eyes. 

 

“You see her too?” Cloud asked his companion as Zack stared directly at Aerith.  A pale blush was spreading over the black-haired fighter’s cheeks and he looked like a teenager caught jerking off to dirty magazines.

 

“Well yeah…I just came from the same place as her,” Zack babbled, his country drawl bleeding into his voice due to his startled condition.  To Aerith, he said: “What happened to the ‘no peeping’ rules, little lady?”

 

“I wasn’t _peeping_ , I swear!”  Aerith was blushing as furiously as Cloud and she still had her eyes covered.  “I didn’t think you two would be here like…like _this!_   I just sensed you both here and I wanted to see how Zack is adjusting and give you both a warning.”

 

Cloud and Zack looked at each other, then back at her.  “I’m adjusting fine, sweetheart,” Zack said.  “What kind of warning are we talking about, here?”

 

“The people you’re looking for are planning something and Gaia isn’t happy about it,” she explained softly, peeking warily through her fingers at them.  “Can I look now?”

 

“It’s safe,” Cloud muttered, wishing he had a paper bag to put over his head.

 

She pulled her hand away from her eyes and regarded them both with admirable calm, despite the blush in her translucent cheeks.  “I’m not certain of the details, but Deepground is doing something un-natural.  They’re using the research that allowed them to create Zack’s clone and infuse it with G-cells to make something dangerous.  I can’t tell you more than that right now.  I only know because I can sense the Planet’s distress and this is the most I could interpret from it.”

 

“Something dangerous,” repeated Zack with a grimace.  “Wish I could say I was surprised.  You don’t think this dangerous thing’s name starts with the letter ‘S’, do you?”

 

Beside him, Cloud tensed.

 

Aerith shook her head.  “No, it’s not related to Sephiroth.  You can at least relax about that.”

 

“Maybe they’re making some kind of biological weapon,” Cloud hypothesized.  “Even without Hojo’s influence, those people had a grudge against humanity.  They wanted the world ‘cleansed’ and they especially hated ‘normal’ people.”

 

Zack thought that Cloud’s scenario made a scary kind of sense, though he didn’t know as much about Deepground as his blonde friend.  He remembered Cissnei telling him that the men who assaulted her said it was a “message”.  He’d thought it was just venom aimed at the WRO and ShinRa at first, but now he wondered if it was supposed to be a “message” to all common humans.

 

“I wish I could tell you,” Aerith said.  “I only know it’s bad.  I knew you were going to fight them soon and I didn’t want to wait to tell you to be extra careful.”

 

“It’s okay,” Cloud assured her.  “You just startled us a little.  I’ll warn Tseng to keep everyone on alert.”  He glanced at Zack and squirmed uncomfortably.  “Um…are you upset about finding us like this, Aerith?”  He knew she’d had a thing for both of them in life and while she’d figured out _his_ preferences a while back, he didn’t know if she’d ever talked to Zack about his.  It was kind of silly to think of a ghost getting jealous but she was his friend.

 

“Of _course_ not,” Aerith assured him with a smile.  “I was just embarrassed for barging in and I thought you’d stay in denial for at _least_ another two weeks before you finally woke up.”

 

“He probably _would_ have, if I hadn’t lost patience and made a move on him,” Zack said dryly, smirking at Cloud.

 

Cloud stared between the two of them with his mouth open. 

 

~So all this time, Aerith knew he felt like this about me?  Is that why she helped Zack come back, or was it because she predicted this Deepground shit coming?  She said I’d “need him” but she never explained what I’d need him for.~

 

“I can see every question on your face,” Aerith informed Cloud with a soft giggle. 

 

Cloud snapped his mouth shut and averted his eyes.  “Okay, since you can see them all, why don’t you answer them for me?”

 

“I have to leave soon, but I’ll tell you this much: Yes, I knew Zack loved you as more than a friend.  He didn’t have to tell me.”

 

Zack cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly.

 

“And yes,” Aerith continued, “I wanted you two to have the chance you never got, but that wasn’t a good enough reason by itself for me to use the Lifestream to send his spirit into the cloned body they made.  He was granted this because Gaia is distressed and agrees that he would do better fighting the corruption on the mortal plane than staying in the Lifestream.  Do you both understand?”

 

Cloud felt his heart sink.  “Is the planet going to take him back when this is over?”

 

Zack glanced at his lover and frowned, wanting to reassure him but unable to do so, since he didn’t know what strings were attached to his reprieve from death either.

 

“Not until he dies again,” Aerith said with a smile.  “Zack’s free to live out his life like everyone else, to its natural end.”  She looked at Zack, her green eyes soothing on him.  “Your body isn’t a rental, okay?  It’s yours for as long as it holds up.”

 

“How long do you think that’ll be?” Zack inquired mildly.  While the researchers had assured him that he wasn’t showing any symptoms of deterioration, they couldn’t give him a guarantee that it wasn’t a risk until their research was complete.

 

Aerith shrugged.  “Well, you’re a healthy and young, with better than average strength and enhancements.  I’d say your body should hold up longer than most, but you’re kind of a reckless guy sometimes, Zack.”

 

“What about the G-project deterioration?” Cloud asked, inadvertently voicing the question that was on Zack’s mind.  “Will he end up like the others?”

 

“The WRO can’t tell me for sure yet,” added Zack.

 

“No,” Aerith answered, to both men’s relief.  “Your body is stable, Zack.  I wouldn’t have sent you into it if it weren’t.”

 

“Well, that’s good to know,” Zack sighed.  He looked at her sharply.  “While we’re on the subject of you ‘sending me back’…couldn’t you have warned me or something?  I mean, one minute we were standing in the field chatting it up and the next thing I knew this glowing door appeared and you shoved me through!  I’d have pissed myself if I could have and I had no idea what was going on when I woke up.”

 

Aerith had the grace to look a little guilty.  “I’m sorry about that.  I didn’t want to say anything because…well, I wasn’t sure it would work.  Gaia allowed it but I was on my own as far as making it happen and I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

 

Zack was mollified by the explanation.  “Okay, I get it,” he said.  He smiled at her.  “Thanks, Aerith.”

 

Cloud nodded silently with agreement, giving her his own quiet smile of gratitude.

 

“I was happy to do it,” she said with a fond look at both of them.  “I have to go now.  I don’t know when I’ll see you again but I won’t be doing it this way unless it’s an emergency.  I’m sorry for sneaking up on you two the way I did.”

 

“No harm done,” Zack assured her with a nostalgic little smile.  “I kind of miss talking to you every day anyhow, Aerith.”

 

“Me too, but I don’t have any regrets,” she replied.  “Take care of each other, okay?”

 

“We will,” promised Cloud. 

 

She faded away and both young men sighed, wishing that she could be there in the flesh with them, too.  The thing was, Aerith was quite comfortable in the spirit world.  Unlike Zack she didn’t pine for sensations of the flesh again and she was able to do more good in the Lifestream than she could have done on the mortal plane.

 

“I’ll bet she _was_ trying to catch us with our pants down,” Zack commented once she was gone.

 

“Zack!” Cloud blurted, shocked.  “How could you _say_ that?”

 

“Oh come on,” the black-haired fighter insisted with a smile.  “You _know_ she has a mischievous streak.  She plays innocent but I’ll bet she wanted to see if we’d gotten together.  There wasn’t anything in that warning she couldn’t have said to us in our dreams, kid.”

 

Cloud quieted and thought of how Aerith had been in life, and how she so often teased him fondly during their visits.  _She’d_ been the one to convince him to dress up like a girl to infiltrate Corneo’s mansion, after all.  She’d dragged him on that little date at the Gold Saucer and even when she’d been running from the Turks, she was lighthearted.  It wasn’t hard to imagine her match making from beyond the grave.

 

“Okay,” he conceded, “maybe she did want to peep, just a little.  I’m sure she just wanted to see for herself how we were doing.”

 

Zack chuckled and put an arm around him again.  “I’m sure she did.”

 

Cloud snuggled close to the other man and sighed, his sleepiness returning now that the surprise of Aerith’s appearance had faded.  He started to ask what Zack would like to watch on TV when sounds began to reach his ears from the suite next to his.  Cloud’s face heated as the male voice groaned softly and another voice faintly murmured something.  Zack had started rubbing his back but he paused, also hearing the sounds.

 

“Uh, sounds like Tifa came back fast and she’s got a guy friend with her,” Zack murmured, cocking his head wolfishly as he listened.

 

“That’s not coming from Tifa’s room,” Cloud corrected softly.  “We’re next to Reeve’s suite.”

 

Zack’s eyebrows lifted and he smiled crookedly.  “Oooh, knew that guy had to be getting a little action.  He’s got the whole ‘sexy gentleman’ vibe working for him.”

 

The other voice moaned loud enough for Zack to make it out as a male one and he chuckled.  “Wow, so he brought a guy home with him.  I didn’t know he swung that way.”

 

“Actually, he’s with Vincent,” explained Cloud as the blush warming his cheeks deepened.  “They’ve been together for months, now.”

 

“Vincent?”  Zack thought for a moment.  “Oh yeah, the shapeshifter, right?  Hmm, they do kind of fit.”  He looked at Cloud and laughed.  “You could light up a holiday tree, your face is so red.  It’s just noise, Chocobo.  It’s not like we can see what they’re doing.”

 

Just after he finished saying that, a muffled exclamation of pain reached their ears.  “The teeth!  Watch the teeth!” Reeve cried.

 

Zack exchanged a look with Cloud and took the remote out of the blonde’s slack hand.  “Um…y-eah…let’s take this off mute and turn the volume up a little.”

 

Cloud covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile.  It was rare to see Zack blush and this was the second time he’d done it in one night.  He didn’t do it as obviously as Cloud but the light flush of pigment highlighting his cheekbones was hard to miss at close range.

 

Zack turned the volume up enough to drown out the distorted sounds coming from Reeve’s room and he held Cloud close and exchanged soft kisses and nuzzles with him.  It didn’t take long for the exhausted young men to drift off to sleep, even with the TV going and the lights on.

 

Shortly after they fell asleep, a familiar young woman with long, light brown hair and expressive green eyes materialized at their bedside.  She smiled down at them and stroked their hair with ghostly fingers before she turned off the lamps.  It wasn’t impossible to interact with solid objects in the physical world, but it was draining.  She left the TV going so that her slumbering friends wouldn’t be disturbed by the sounds coming from next door and she tucked them in before dissipating again.

 

~*******************************~

 

-To be continued


	13. Chapter 13

“Alliance”

Chapter 13

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Reeve hadn’t expected his lover to be so aggressive about it when he encouraged him to take the initiative.  Ever since the night they got together, the engineer had been working on coaxing Vincent out of his shell, little by little.  The dark gunman was by no means a typical man and his fears of harming Reeve kept him from exploring his assertive side too thoroughly.  While Reeve appreciated and respected those concerns, he had faith in Vincent and he knew that the man was capable of controlling himself.

 

Tonight, he wondered if he had been wrong about that.  “I want you to let yourself go a little tonight,” he’d said before they retired to his room, “we’re about to come into something big and I don’t want either of us living with regrets for what might have been, understand?  I trust you, Vincent.  You won’t hurt me.”

 

After being shoved onto the bed, pinned down and bitten on the neck hard enough to draw blood, Reeve was forced to question his own judgment.  He cried out a warning, fearing that if he just bore the minor pain silently his companion might take it too far and puncture a jugular.  He had the canines to do it, if he got carried away.

 

Vincent pulled back and gazed down at him with lust-fogged crimson eyes, some sanity returning to his expression as he saw the blood trickling onto the pillow under Reeve’s head.  He stared at the wound he’d made in his lover’s neck, fascinated and repulsed at the same time.

 

“I’m not ready for this,” the gunman said roughly.  He tried to get up off of his companion but Reeve’s arms went around him and prevented his retreat.  He stared into the engineer’s calm brown eyes uncertainly.  “I _hurt_ you,” he reminded when Reeve didn’t let go of him.

 

“Just a little sting,” Reeve ensured him.  “I’ve been hurt much worse than that before, believe me.”  He smiled dryly at his dark, beautiful lover, determined to show him that he didn’t have to be boxed into one role.  “You can do this, Vincent.  I can take a little rough treatment…just be mindful not to sever anything important, if you know what I mean.”

 

“This is no time for jokes,” the shapeshifter murmured.  His eyes strayed of their own accord to Reeve’s bared chest and he got distracted.  He loved the engineer’s swimmer’s build and the pattern of dark hair that dusted his chest and stomach.  He heard Reeve chuckle softly and he flushed, meeting his gaze again.  “You mock my desire.”

 

“No, of course not,” Reeve said hastily, running his hands over the gunman’s slimmer body leisurely.  “I just get a bit giddy when you look at me that way.  Vincent, I promise you it will be fine.  You stopped as soon as I spoke up.  You have better control over yourself than you think.”  His fingertips traced the pattern of scars on Vincent’s back and he swallowed.  “I want to give you the same thing you’ve given me.”

 

“I know you do,” Vincent whispered uncertainly, “I want it too, but…what if I _can’t_ stop the next time?”

 

“You will,” Reeve said with confidence.  “If you can’t trust yourself, trust _me_ instead.  I won’t let it get out of control and I promise you’ll know it if you really hurt me.”

 

Vincent considered his offer, staring unblinkingly down at him while his desire burned unbearably.  “I’ll get the items we require,” he finally murmured.

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

A short time later, they were both naked and Reeve was on his back with his legs propped over Vincent’s pale shoulders.  He’d started to lie on his stomach but Vincent insisted on this position, so that he could look into his eyes and read his expressions.  The gunman was taking no chances and even though he held Reeve’s wrists crossed over his head with his claw hand, he was gentle and cautious as he positioned himself and thrust forward. 

 

Reeve groaned softly, his captured hands clenching involuntarily as his lover’s hard girth drove into him.  They’d taken time to prepare him first, of course, but it had been so long since the last time he took this role that the sensation was practically new to him.  Vincent was watching him carefully, his pale lips parted with pleasure and his long eyes heavy-lidded.  Reeve nodded encouragingly, moving beneath the other man to entice him further. 

 

With a heavy groan, Vincent pushed in the rest of the way and closed his eyes, examining the feel of his companion’s body squeezing his rigid flesh.  It was different from the few experiences he remembered having in the past, and it was intoxicating.  He growled low in his throat as his lust threatened to erupt.  He knew that Reeve wouldn’t break if he gave him a good, hard fuck but it wasn’t the force of his thrusting cock that he feared would harm the other man.  His demons lusted for blood as much as pleasures of the flesh and Vincent would die before he made Reeve pay for that.

 

He pulled back slowly and then shoved forward again, bucking into Reeve’s pliant body with aggressive enthusiasm.  The engineer’s swift gasp expressed both pain and pleasure but he didn’t ask him to stop, so Vincent did it again…and again. 

 

“Oh…oh, hell,” Reeve panted, his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling as Vincent’s cock shoved against his prostate.  Whether the gunman meant to or not, he was sliding in with perfect precision and each thrust made a jolt of sensation go through Reeve’s spine.  “Don’t stop,” he grunted when the gunman paused for a moment. 

 

Vincent obliged and his metallic claw tightened around Reeve’s wrists almost painfully.  The engineer didn’t fight his dominating hold—not that he could have if he tried.  Reeve arched his throat and groaned Vincent’s name through clenched teeth, his erection rubbing against the gunman’s stomach with each thrust.  He felt Vincent’s mouth caressing his chest and he arched his back encouragingly, only to blurt another sharp gasp as he felt the straight, white teeth close over his nipple and bite just hard enough to sting.  Vincent’s tongue swirled around the abused, tender bud a moment later and provided an interesting contrast of pleasure to soothe away the brief pain. 

 

Vincent pumped harder and the bed began to bump against the wall with the force of his motions.  Reeve vaguely recalled that Cloud’s suite was right next to his and he bit his lip to hold back the volume of his cries, realizing that the blonde could probably hear his and Vincent’s activities through the wall.

 

_~Poor kid…he’s probably got his pillow stuffed over his head right now, trying to block out the noise.  Damn, I should have asked Rufus to assign him to another room further down.~_

 

With that realization came another, more disturbing one: Tifa’s room was on the other side.  He was literally surrounded by his young friends and here he was getting his ass pounded by Vincent, probably traumatizing both of them for life with his audio pornography. 

 

“Cover my mouth,” Reeve panted shakenly.  A particularly hard push forced a guttural moan past his lips before he could stop it and he nearly came.  “Vince…please,” he begged.

 

Vincent didn’t question his demand.  He covered the engineer’s mouth with his human hand and resumed kissing and biting at his chest and throat.  He thought it was some sort of kink his lover had in mind and he didn’t bother to temper the volume of his own groans and growls of pleasure.

 

 _~Well, this is going to do a whole lot of good,~_ Reeve thought as Vincent snarled a promise to fuck him up.  He knew it was his lover’s passion talking and he’d grown used to Vincent saying things in the heat of lust that he’d never say under regular circumstances, but he was sure that the occupants of both adjacent rooms could hear the gunman’s rough declaration.

 

“Mmph…wait,” the engineer tried to say, but his request was muffled under the hand he’d so brilliantly demanded Vincent place over his mouth and the gunman was too impassioned to take heed of his distorted request.  Reeve howled behind the pale hand clamped over his mouth as Vincent’s hips snapped forcefully, driving his cock so hard and deep that it made the engineer’s vision blur with pleasure. 

 

“Reeve,” growled the gunman, biting down on the skin over his left pectoral. 

 

He felt his teeth go in and he tasted the salty blood.  It made him mad with lust and he sucked at the wound and ground his hips in hard, forceful circles.  The engineer’s ragged, muffled cry was full of pleasure rather than pain and Vincent groaned, wanting more.  He released Reeve’s wrists abruptly and reared back, slipping out of his body and pulling the other man’s legs off of his shoulders.  Before the WRO leader could ask what he was doing, Vincent flipped him over onto his stomach and pinned him down, shoving his thighs apart and positioning his erection between his buttocks. 

 

Reeve bit down on the pillow as Vincent drove into him again, filling him completely with the first thrust.  He didn’t get a chance to adjust to the new position and the forceful penetration before the gunman began fucking him again.  Vincent’s hands sought out Reeve’s—which were clutching the pillow with desperation.  Claw and mortal hand closed around the engineer’s wrists, holding them tightly to keep him subdued. 

 

After a moment, the engineer realized he couldn’t breathe and the unbearable pleasure/pain of Vincent’s thrusts distracted him enough that he couldn’t immediately work out why. 

 

_~Your face is in the pillow, dumbass!  Turn your head before you smother yourself!~_

Reeve turned his head to the side and sucked in a much-needed helping of oxygen…which he immediately expulsed with a loud moan as Vincent bit him on the shoulder.  He probably should have said something, because this particular bite was harder than the last ones had been and he could feel the blood dripping down his shoulder.  He didn’t want Vincent to stop though and he knew that if he did, he’d have time to notice the damage he’d done and feel guilty.  If he stopped him now, Vincent might never believe he could take it and despite the sting of the gunman’s sharp teeth, it felt too good for Reeve to take the risk that his lover might never work up the courage to take this role again.

 

Reeve forgot all about his neighbors as Vincent gasped and panted in his ear.  The powerful thrusts of the former Turk’s cock were driving all coherent thought from Reeve’s head and the pressure in his pelvic area built and built with each moment.  Reeve cried Vincent’s name hoarsely as the pressure exploded and he came against the sheets his body was rubbing against.  Vincent’s answering curse was hot and breathy against his ear as the shapeshifter’s lean body went taut against his, the spasms of Reeve’s orgasm driving him over the edge as well.

 

Vincent’s weight fell against Reeve’s back as the gunman came inside of him.  The silken tendrils of his jet-black hair blanketed the engineer’s aching shoulders as he laid his head between them.  His ragged breath caressed Reeve’s skin and his gripping hands loosened over his wrists and stroked up and down his arms with slow sensuality.  All of his aggression was spent and now he was pressing soft, tender kisses along Reeve’s back and shoulders, licking gently at the wounds he’d caused.

 

He’d done it.  He’d taken his lover without any of his demons making an unwanted appearance and taking over.  It was unfortunate that he’d bitten Reeve so many times in the process but since the other man wasn’t complaining, Vincent’s guilt was salved.  He really _could_ take it.

 

“Are you okay?” Vincent asked when he found the breath to speak again.  He brushed his lover’s sweat-dampened chestnut hair away from his face and studied him carefully.

 

“I’m fantastic,” Reeve answered in a breathless voice.  “How are you?”

 

Vincent caught himself smiling.  “Amazed,” he replied truthfully.  He eased his sated flesh out of the snug passage it was nestled in and rolled carefully off the other man, sitting up to remove the protective barrier of latex gloving it.  “I’m going to dispose of this and get my Cure materia for you,” he informed Reeve as he stood up and headed for the bathroom.

 

“I hardly think a Cure spell is necessary,” Reeve said dryly as he rolled onto his back and laced his fingers behind his head.  He winced a little at the burn in his nether regions.  “If a man can’t take a few love bites without falling apart, he certainly shouldn’t be in the line of work I’m in.”

 

Vincent paused and looked over his shoulder at him, his red gaze sweeping over his body and resting below his navel.  “I wasn’t getting it for the bites,” he said pointedly as the engineer squirmed to get comfortable.

 

“Oh.”  Reeve didn’t argue further.  Yes, he could go without the quick fix of a Cure spell but his bottom wouldn’t thank him for it and sleep would probably be hard to come by from the discomfort.  “Carry on, then.”

 

Vincent’s lips quirked and he opened the bathroom door.  Reeve admired his pale, firm ass and sighed.  He was pleased with the outcome of this evening, even if his friends heard more than he ever wanted them to hear and his posterior was burning.  There was nothing more fulfilling in a relationship than a mutual exchange of trust and sharing, and he knew the last of the barriers between himself and Vincent had been dissolved.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud’s cellphone was ringing but the blonde was sleeping like a log.  Ordinarily he wasn’t such a heavy sleeper, but he’d worn himself out over the past two days and Zack’s presence made him instinctively more relaxed.  The black-haired fighter heard the cheerful, digital ring of the phone and he opened his eyes and reached out for it, grabbing it off the nightstand and answering it before it could wake his companion up.

 

“Cloud’s phone,” he yawned.

 

“Um, who’s this?” the voice on the other line was youthful sounding and female.

 

“Zack,” answered the former Soldier with a grin.  “And who’s this?”

 

“I’ll tell you after you tell me what you’re doing with Cloud’s phone,” the girl said evasively, her tone more than a little suspicious.

 

“I’m his friend,” Zack explained.  “I answered it for him because he’s asleep.”

 

“He doesn’t have any friends named ‘Zack’,” she snorted.  “Well, except that dead guy.  Are you dead?”

 

Zack chuckled softly.  “No, I’m not dead…but I’m the dead guy you’re thinking of.”

 

Silence.  Then: “Huh?  What gives, is this some kind of stupid joke?  Lemme talk to Cloud!”

 

“I told you, he’s sleeping,” Zack said stubbornly.  He was enjoying the girl’s confusion, whoever she was.  “If you’re one of his posse then you should have gotten a message from Cid about me by now.”

 

“I’m a very _important_ and _busy_ lady,” she sniffed arrogantly.  “I haven’t had time to talk to Cid yet.  Now tell me who you are, mister!  I’m next in line to rule Wutai and if you’ve hurt my friend I’ll kick your sorry butt into next Tuesday!”

 

Her announcement concerning her lineage jogged Zack’s memory and he grinned.  “Yuffie, right?”

 

“You just never mind who I am and answer my questions!” the girl demanded in a huff.

 

Zack covered the mouthpiece of the phone and snickered softly.  He cleared his throat before speaking again.  “I _have_ answered your questions.  I told you, I’m Zack.  Is it my fault you were too busy to check your messages?  Besides, you should remember me.  You put me through hell sending me out on Materia hunts, back in my SOLDIER days.  You were just a skinny little kid then, though.”

 

She went silent and he imagined her eyes going round.  “I don’t believe you,” She grumbled, “Okay, I’m going to check my text messages and if I don’t find one from Cid explaining this, you’re going to be in some _major_ trouble, pal.”

 

“Wouldn’t want that,” Zack said lightly.  I’ll hold while you have a look, sugar.”

 

“DON’T call me ‘sugar’, you perv.”

 

He chuckled again.  “You’re right…there’s definitely more spice in you than sugar.”

 

She mumbled something about sexism and put him on hold to check her messages.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

In her bedroom in Wutai, the young ninja checked through her text messages.  The guy on Cloud’s phone had a nice voice but she didn’t trust him one bit.  She found one from Cid, just as this “Zack” character said she would.  There was an attachment with it but she waited to open it up until she read Cid’s message.

 

_“Talked to Spike today.  Says his pal Zack came back from dead.  Thought he was crazy but he sent this pic.  Looks like the guy I saw in a pic Tifa showed me once.  Cloud says will explain when we all get there.  Crazy shit.”_

 

Yuffie frowned and opened the attachment.  Her eyebrows shot up as she looked down at the saluting, grinning hunk in the picture.  “Oh.  My.  _God_.  I REMEMBER _HIM_!!”  She admired the picture for a moment.  She’d been too young to appreciate a hot looking guy like that when she knew him years ago but now… _hubba-hubba_!  “Maybe I’m in the market for a husband after all.  That would make the old goat happy.” 

 

She cleared her throat and clicked back over, her voice much sweeter than before.  “Oh, you’re _that_ Zack!”  She was still confused about what the hell was going on but she was used to Cloud’s obscurity by now and weird things weren’t exactly new to her.  “Why didn’t you just say so?”

 

“I kind of _did_ ,” he replied with a chuckle.  “At least, I tried to.” 

 

“Oh, I thought you were a _different_ Zack.  So it’s really you, huh?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me.”  She could literally _hear_ the smile in his voice.  “Cloud took that picture while he was on the phone with your pal Cid, trying to convince him he wasn’t losing his marbles.”

 

“I can’t _wait_ to hear how this happened,” she said in an excited tone.  “You’re helping with the Deepground stuff, right?”

 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he assured her.  “Oh, it looks like Chocobo-head is waking up.  Hold on a sec and I’ll hand him over to you.”

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud barely opened his eyes before he felt Zack’s lips press against his in a good-morning kiss.  He smiled sleepily up at the other man, his heart singing with joy to find him still there. 

 

“There’s a materia thief on the phone for you,” Zack informed him with a wink.

 

Cloud sat up groggily and put the phone to his ear.  “Hello?”

 

“Hey Cloud!  I was just talking to Hottie…er…I mean Zack.  Sorry to call so early…I keep forgetting about the time zone differences.  It’s like, late night over here.  Anyhow, I just wanted to let you know we should be there by the end of the week.”

 

“That’s good, Yuffie,” the blonde yawned.  He glanced at the clock.  “Actually I’m glad you called so early.  We need a head start to get a full day’s training in.”

 

“Training?” She sounded puzzled.  “What for?  You already kick ass.”

 

“It’s not for me,” he explained, “It’s for Zack.  He’s been out of it for a while and we’re just getting him warmed up for the raid on the Deepground group that attacked Cissnei.”

 

“Oh,” she sounded slightly subdued.  “I guess being dead would make anyone a little rusty.  How’s Cissnei doing, anyhow?  I don’t know her that well but everyone seems to like her.”

 

“I guess she’s doing as well as can be expected,” Cloud murmured uncertainly.  “She was beat up pretty bad.”  He hadn’t told his friends that Cissnei had been sexually assaulted because he didn’t think it was right to inform them of something so private and traumatizing.  “Zack visits her every day and it seems to cheer her up a little.”

 

“He does?” She sounded oddly wary, now.  “Um, are they like…together?”

 

“No, they’re just good friends,” Cloud answered.

 

“Oh.” Yuffie’s voice perked up.  “Is he with anyone else?”

 

Cloud closed his eyes and groaned softly, finally seeing where the ninja girl’s questions were leading.  He had to nip this in the bud, before she started crushing too hard on Zack.  “Yeah, actually,” he said uncomfortably.  While his friends never said anything out loud, he was pretty sure they all knew he was gay.  What most of them didn’t know was who he was being gay _with_. 

 

“Damn,” Yuffie grumbled.  “So who is she?”

 

“Uh, it’s not a _she_ , if you get my meaning,” Cloud said, his face heating up.

 

“You’re kidding.”  Yuffie sounded annoyed now.  “You mean to tell me a sexy, manly hunk like that is _gay_?”  She caught herself and had the humility to sound embarrassed.  “Uh, sorry Cloud…not that I think _you_ aren’t sexy or manly…it’s just…you’re…um…you know…you’re a _different_ kind of sexy…like the cute, broody kind, you know?”

 

“Quit while you’re ahead,” the blonde said with a little smirk.  He glanced at Zack and he really couldn’t blame Yuffie for her description of him.  He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, stretching his shoulders, back and arms in the morning light.  Cloud watched the play of muscles in Zack’s chest and torso as they contracted and relaxed and he missed what Yuffie said next.

 

“Hello?  Gaia to Cloud Strife!”

 

He shook himself out of it.  “Sorry, Yuffie…I zoned out.  I’m not awake, yet.”  Cloud turned around to face away from Zack before the sable-haired man could notice how red his face was. 

 

“Yeah, sure.  Whatever you say, Spacey.”

 

“Is there something else you want?” Cloud grumbled.

 

“No, I was just complaining about how all the good ones are gay or taken or both,” Yuffie sighed.  “Dad’s been riding my ass to get married and start working on heirs.  Like I wanna spend my time waddling around with a pregnant belly!  As _if_.”

 

“Doesn’t sound like you,” Cloud agreed. 

 

“See, that’s what I like about you,” she said cheerfully.  “You never push me like other people do.  You’re just like ‘yeah, whatever’ and ‘do what makes you happy’.  Everyone else yammers about my ‘responsibilities’.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Cloud yawned. 

 

“Well, that’s a shame about Zack,” she sighed.  “At least I’ll get some eye candy while I’m there, though.  Don’t let him get killed, okay Cloud?”

 

“I won’t,” he promised with a soft smile.  “See you soon, Yuffie.”  He hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed, falling back against the mattress with a groan. 

 

“You act like you just had a root canal,” Zack observed with a grin.  “What’s up with the blush, cutie-pie?  Did the little thief say something saucy?”

 

“She’s got a crush on you,” mumbled the blonde.

 

Zack’s grin widened.  “Yup, they all love the Zackster.  Oof!” His sentence ended in an expulsion of breath as Cloud smacked him in the stomach. 

 

“Think a lot of yourself, don’t you?” Cloud muttered.

 

Zack pounced on him, pinning him down with a wicked smile.  “You don’t?”  He goosed the blonde in the ribs, making him gasp and squirm.

 

“Never said I didn’t…quit that!”  Cloud snickered humiliatingly as his lover tickled him again. 

 

Zack enjoyed a few moments of torturing his smaller companion before he sobered and lowered his mouth for a kiss.  “You know I’m just playing around, right?” he murmured against Cloud’s lips. 

 

“I’ve been with Reno for over a year,” Cloud replied with a little smile.  “I’m used to being with a flirt.  Don’t worry, I know you don’t really think you’re Gaia’s Gift and I know you’re not a man whore.”

 

Zack laughed and rolled over, bringing the blonde with him so that Cloud was sprawled on top of him.  “Damn, I was hoping I’d get a jealous reaction and a little aggressive territory claiming.”

 

Cloud raised his eyebrows, beginning to see a side of Zack that he’d never known was there.  “Would you like that?” he asked.  He couldn’t imagine the sable-haired fighter taking a uke role but he was beginning to find it very easy to imagine him letting someone tie him up and ride the hell out of him.  The way he’d talked about Cloud piercing his ear and “branding” him, the way he’d told him to “have his way” with him when he took him into his lap in the barn…there was more to Zack’s sensuality than vanilla sex. 

 

“What do _you_ think, sexy thing?” Zack replied in a seductive drone, waggling his eyebrows. 

 

Cloud considered him thoughtfully.  “I think Reno’s not the only sex fiend I’m dating,” he said bluntly.  “Was yesterday what you really wanted?  I mean, you…um…you…” 

“I made sweet love to you,” Zack finished for him.  He was smiling but his eyes were serious.  “Yeah, that was _exactly_  
what I wanted for our first time, and I’d love the hell out of doing that again and again, every chance I get.  I’ve got my kinks but I’m a romantic, too.  I’m just not a one-trick dog, if you know what I mean.”

 

Cloud felt relieved and he smiled.  “Yeah, I know what you mean.”  He lowered his head for another kiss, taking his time to enjoy the feel of Zack’s lips and tongue while the morning was still young enough.  He started getting hard and the next words that came out of his mouth made him want to crawl under the bed and hide in shame for the rest of the day.

 

“So, any chance of a threesome with me and Reno?”

 

Zack stared at him, his expression slack with shock.

 

Cloud’s mouth worked and he couldn’t think of any way to excuse the kinky proposition he’d just made.  He started to get off of the other man, intending to run out the door if he had to—but Zack put his arms around him and wouldn’t let him up.

 

“Did my sweet, innocent Goldie just admit he’s got dirty thoughts of a man scramble floating around in his head?” Zack laughed with delight, his white teeth flashing with one of those stunning, wolfish smiles he was so good at.

 

“No…no, he didn’t!”  Cloud grunted and struggled against the larger man’s hold on him, his eyes huge in his face and his face bright pink.

 

“Oh, I think he did!” Zack lifted his head and pretended to nom on Cloud’s neck.  “My baby wants me to get with _his_ baby!  Holy shit, a fox and my pack-mate, together in my bed at once!  Now that’s some quality porn.”

 

“Okay, I’m embarrassed enough,” Cloud sputtered.  His brain pointed out something that Zack had said and he stopped struggling abruptly, staring down at him.  “Did you say ‘pack-mate’?”  Maybe it wasn’t just Rufus and Reno that thought of him and Zack as wolf-like, despite the black-haired fighter’s constant referrals to him as “Chocobo”.

 

“Yeah, so?” Zack looked at him curiously, sobering a little under his surprised scrutiny.

 

“Thought I reminded you of a bird,” Cloud hedged uncertainly.

 

Zack shrugged.  “Sometimes, but it’s mainly the hair and the way you act when you’re a little spooked.  Besides, I know it drives you crazy when I compare you to a chocobo.”  He smiled at him warmly.  “The rest of the time you’re like a wolf.  Guess I’m not the only one to make that observation, huh?”

 

“No,” Cloud agreed.  He combed his fingers through Zack’s mussed, black hair, his embarrassment fading as he was struck with the feeling that he and Zack really were like pack-mates.  “You’re definitely a wolf,” he finished.

 

“Hmm, two wolves and a fox,” Zack said thoughtfully.  “We’ll just have to play it by ear and see what happens.”

 

“Yeah?” Something wicked took hold of Cloud at the thought of the three of them tangled in a passionate jumble of limbs and flesh.  He reached out and grabbed the phone lying next to him and he flipped it open and searched through his saved media files.  “Have a look at this and tell me you still want to ‘play it by ear’.” 

 

As Cloud showed the snapshot to Zack, he realized that for the first time he understood why Reno had been so determined to see him and Rufus get together.  With all boundaries dropped, there would be no reason for jealousy between anyone and Cloud was so in love with both of them that he couldn’t help but want a completed triangle.

 

Zack looked at the picture on the cellphone screen and it took his brain a moment to register what he was seeing.  He’d only ever seen Reno in his Turk uniform, with the exception of that time years ago at Costa Del Sol when the Turks were sent to keep an eye on him and Reno had worn some swimming trunks.  He’d never even seen the redhead with his hair down, before. 

 

In the photo, a lean young man stood with his legs slightly parted, one hand splayed over his partly exposed abdomen and the other hand holding the rim of a black fedora hat that was sitting on his head.  He wore a brown, two-button blazer that exposed his lithe-muscled chest and stomach down to the navel and a matching pair of dress pants.  Long, vivid red hair spilled out from under the hat to tumble down his chest and around his shoulders.  The young man’s lips were curved into a “come-hither” smile and he gazed out from the picture with bedroom eyes.

 

“Uhh,” Zack drawled stupidly.  He wiped at his mouth just to be sure there wasn’t drool coming out of it.  “That’s…he looks…wow.”

 

“Yup,” Cloud agreed with a smug smile.  “I picked it out for him.”

 

“Okay, I stand corrected,” Zack said with a gulp.  “Maybe I could do a little more than just wait and see what happens.”  He tore his eyes off of the sinfully tempting picture and studied Cloud carefully.  “You sure this is what _you_ want, though?  I mean, you don’t think it would be awkward?”

 

Cloud turned the phone off and shook his head, gazing at the other man a little bashfully.  “Why should it be?  I told you I’ve done it before.”

 

“I know,” Zack said, “I just wanted to make sure.  I don’t want you feeling like you’ve got to do this to make us feel better about sharing you.  A minute ago you were blushing like a virgin on her wedding night and now you’re showing me hot pictures of your redhead.  It’s throwing me off a little.”

 

Cloud bit his lip and shrugged.  “I guess I’m just not good at expressing myself.  At least, not verbally.”  He looked him in the eye and forced the truth to come out past his clumsy lips.  “I’d like to try it.  Like I said before, it’s up to you and Reno whether you hook up, but if you do…” he trailed off and averted his eyes, frustrated by his inability to just say what he thought.

 

Zack reached up and traced his lips with his fingertips.  “As long as I know you’re okay with it, I won’t shy away if I get the urge to pounce him.” 

 

He said it with such a straight face that it was funny.  Cloud’s mouth twitched and he tried with all his might to be serious, but Zack’s choice of words was so contrary to his expression that the blonde failed.

 

“Hey, I was being serious for a change,” Zack protested when Cloud sputtered softly with laughter.

 

“I know you were,” Cloud agreed unevenly, “I’m sorry.  Didn’t mean to laugh at you.”

 

Zack shrugged.  “It’s okay.  I guess I should have used less colorful terms.”  He put his arms around the blonde and pulled him down, hugging him tightly.  “Besides, you’re cute when you laugh.” 

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud gave Reno a quick call before they headed out the door.  The Turk was on his way in to the office with Rude and they had a meeting to attend concerning their role in the strike tomorrow. 

 

“Don’t let Bird boy wear himself out too much on ya,” Reno said glibly.  “Oh, or on flying.  We’re all gonna need plenty of sleep tonight, yo.”

 

“I’ll keep him in line,” Cloud promised dryly, his eyes flitting to Zack with amusement.  “Talk to you later, Reno.”

 

He and Zack left after that and they spent the day at the barn outside of city limits.  Unfortunately, there was no time to spare for further lovemaking.  Between combat practice and flying practice, the black-haired man’s attention was absorbed.  When they sat down to eat the lunch Cloud had packed they took a little time to enjoy some stolen kisses and caress one another’s bodies, but Zack knew that there was no such thing as a “quickie” when it came to intimacy with Cloud and he restrained himself with difficulty. 

 

They resumed training after lunch, trying to ignore their desire for each other.  By the time the sun was setting, Zack had managed to figure out how to twist through the air like a corkscrew, much to Cloud’s amazement.  The former Soldier had discovered that the trick to using his wings to his best advantage was to listen to the instincts that seemed to have come with the package.  He finally understood how Angeal and Genesis got the hang of it so fast and he felt a little stupid for taking longer than they did to catch on.

 

“You’d think you were born with those wings,” Cloud complimented with a smile as Zack landed in front of him.  “I can’t believe how—“

 

“Later,” Zack interrupted as he put his arms around him.  He was perspiring lightly from all of the activity and his eyes burned with need as they gazed into Cloud’s.  “I know Reno’s going to want a little quality time with you tonight too, so I’m nabbing you for a little while before we go back.” 

 

Cloud’s mouth fell open as he was lifted and carried into the hayloft.  They barely touched down before Zack was kissing him and pulling at his clothes.  The other man’s lips and tongue made his thoughts scatter and his body restless with lust.  Not that Cloud would have objected to a spontaneous romp in the hay with Zack, but the other man hardly gave him a chance to protest, as if he were afraid that if he allowed the blonde to speak he’d say “no”. 

 

His clothes soon ended up in a pile with Zackary’s and Cloud was thankful that this time, they’d remembered to bring lubricant.  The black-haired fighter prepared him as quickly as he dared before he coaxed Cloud onto his side and spooned intimately against his back, embracing him with one arm while he positioned himself.  Cloud’s swift gasp as he entered him gave Zack paused and he murmured a breathless inquiry.  The blonde nodded, confirming that he was all right, and Zack took him with slow, gentle passion that belied his earlier aggression.  He gasped endearments in his ear and groaned softly with pleasure.

 

“Wish we had more time,” Zack moaned, holding his orgasm back.  He wasn’t going to use tantric this time because they needed to get back before long.  Cloud was making those unlikely sounds of helpless pleasure that Zack never would have imagined coming from his lips. 

 

“Me too,” Cloud panted.  His eyes fluttered shut and he pushed back against Zack’s gently thrusting cock desperately as the pleasure built to consuming heights.  Zack hooked an arm under his topmost leg and lifted it, exposing him for better penetration.  Cloud couldn’t contain the long, ragged groan that erupted from his throat as the next thrust made his body shiver from head to toe.  “Unh!  Ah…ah…Zack,” Cloud tossed his head back, narrowly avoiding cracking his lover in the face with the back of his head.

 

“What do you have against my nose?” Zack chuckled breathlessly as he jerked his face to the side and avoided the collision.

 

“S-sorry,” Cloud panted.  He clenched his teeth and the next sound that came out was a ragged cry.  His cock twitched and he gripped it with his hand and stroked it hard and fast.  Zack saw him doing it and the black-haired man cursed roughly with lust.

 

“God, that’s so fucking sexy,” Zack growled.  He watched the flushed organ spurt in Cloud’s gripping hand and he felt the blonde clench tightly around him.  “Cloud,” he choked as he came inside of him.  Their moans of pleasure mingled together and they collapsed on top of the blanket when it finished.

 

“That,” Zack panted, “is about as close to a ‘quickie’ as I can give.  Sorry I jumped you like that, Cloud.”  He raised his head enough to kiss the blonde’s freckled shoulder, feeling a little bad.

 

“I’m not complaining,” Cloud assured him in an equally winded voice.  He snuggled into the other man’s embrace and sighed, loving the feel of him resting intimately inside of his body.  “Never thought I’d get so into this role.”

 

“You mean receiving?” Zack inquired softly between kisses.

 

“Yeah.”  Cloud was thankful that his companion wasn’t using crude terms for it.  He was already starting to feel embarrassed about jerking himself off at the end of the encounter.

 

“Hey, you haven’t been doing that just for my sake, right?” Zack asked with a frown.

 

Cloud shook his head.  “Nuh-uh.  I’ve just been doing what feels right.”  He couldn’t explain just _why_ it felt right that way with Zack, anymore than he could explain why his first instinct with Reno was usually to fuck his brains out, or why he could go either way with Rufus.  It just… _was_.

 

“I guess we’ve got to get back,” Zack sighed reluctantly.  “I’ll sleep in my room tonight so you and Reno can have some privacy, okay?”

 

Cloud turned his head for a kiss, grateful that Zack was so understanding and patient.  Maybe someday soon, he wouldn’t have to divide his time between the two of them.  The more he thought about it, the better it sounded.  He didn’t have Reno’s multi-tasking skills when it came to lovers and he wasn’t sure when or if he’d have another encounter with Rufus, partitioned as his time was.  How the hell the president managed to run his company and find time for his Turks was another mystery.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud wondered if he would have enough energy to fight tomorrow.  When they returned to headquarters, he and Zack had dinner and gave one another a kiss goodnight before the black-haired fighter went to visit Cissnei and Cloud called up Reno to invite him to his room.  He wasn’t doing it specifically for sex…he would have been just as happy talking and kissing, but the redhead had other plans.

 

“I’m so fucking glad you called me up,” Reno panted as he rocked on top of the blonde fighter he was straddling.  “I was starting to get withdrawals, Blondie.”

 

“Don’t know how you do it,” Cloud groaned, licking his lips and gripping the Turk’s thrusting hips with both hands. 

 

“Baby, if you haven’t figured that out by now you haven’t been paying attention,” Reno teased, his eyes flashing down at him.  He put his hands over Cloud’s and guided them to his ass, letting him feel the flex of his muscles.  “Like riding a bike,” he teased.  “A really hot, blond bike.”

 

“That isn’t what I meant,” Cloud said in an unsteady voice.  His breath caught as Reno propelled his pelvis forward hard, taking him in deep.  “I…I meant…keeping up with all of us.  Aren’t you…tired?”

 

“Aww, are Zack and I wearing you out?” Reno purred.  He rotated his hips in circles, moaning with seductive pleasure as Cloud’s shaft massaged him inside.  “Guess you’re lucky Rufus is too busy to tap ya right now too, then.”  He rocked from side to side, smiling down at him with a look that was purely sensual as he ran his tongue over his parted lips.

 

Cloud squeezed the redhead’s ass with one hand and reached around between his spread thighs with the other.  He thrust upwards into his impassioned lover as he gripped Reno’s dew-beaded cock and began to stroke it. 

 

“Damn, that’s good,” Reno whimpered, his brows furrowing as Cloud’s touch and hip action pleasured him.  He arched his back and moaned, rocking harder against him and matching his thrusts.  “Cloud…baby…”  He panted harder and faster, groaning breathless curses as their actions brought him closer to his peak. 

 

Cloud stared up at him, loving the flush of passion darkening his pale cheeks and the way the crescent tattoos on them complimented it.  Reno’s eyes were closed and his head was bowed, his sculpted features sweaty and alight with an expression of lust and ecstasy.  His ponytail hung over his left shoulder, draping that side of his chest and torso all the way down to his hip.  He hadn’t given Cloud a chance to free it from its elastic but the blonde was beyond caring, now.

 

Reno gasped as Cloud released his ass to pinch his nipples to hardness, one at a time.  Once they were tightened, the blonde brushed his fingers over the sensitized peaks, going back and forth between them and stroking his palm lazily along the slim pectoral muscles as he went.  He evened out his pelvic motions, smoothing them so that they weren’t jarring even as he increased the force behind them.

 

“Ooooh, damn,” Reno whimpered shakenly.  “Cloud…I can’t hold it…feels to fucking good!”

 

“It’s okay,” soothed the blonde just as unevenly, on the verge of climax himself.  God, it really did make a difference to do it without a barrier…he was trembling with the effort to wait until his lover came. 

 

Reno bowed over him and kissed him almost brutally as his control slipped.  His creamy seed discharged all over Cloud’s stomach and slicked against Reno’s heaving torso as he collapsed on top of the blonde and panted heavily.  A sharp gasp of wonder escaped his lips a moment later when he felt the warm spurt of Cloud’s release fill him up. 

 

“Oh god,” Reno sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head on Cloud’s chest as the blonde grunted and twitched inside of him.  “Why the hell haven’t we tried this before?” 

 

He’d almost asked Rude to try it bareback last night but he knew how conservative his partner could be about such things.  If anyone would be brave enough to do it besides Cloud, Rufus would.  The redhead kissed Cloud’s heaving chest and stroked his torso, sighing with satisfaction. 

 

“Never thought of it before,” Cloud sighed when he caught his breath.  He caressed Reno’s back with long, smooth strokes, tracing his arching spine with his fingertips. 

 

“The things you can learn when you’re desperate, horny and stuck out in the middle of nowhere,” Reno purred, his lips traveling up to Cloud’s neck, jaw and mouth.  He kissed him deeply, absorbed in the feel of his lover.

 

Cloud kissed him back, just as fascinated with the sensations.  When they recovered enough, they showered together and returned to bed naked.  They touched and kissed as they fell asleep, pleasantly spent from the encounter.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	14. Chapter 14

“Alliance”

Chapter 14

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Reno sat bolt upright in the bed and reached for the remote, clicking it blindly in the direction of the television with his eyes still shut.  Beside him, Cloud was roused from sleep by the sound of the phone alarm going off and he grumbled and rubbed his eyes before reaching for it.  He blinked his eyes open and reached out for the lamp to click it on.  He saw his lover sitting there with a slack mouth, his wild hair mussed and hanging down his back as he repeatedly clicked the TV remote.

 

“Reno, what are you doing?”

 

“Tryin’ to turn this damn TV off,” the redhead mumbled.  The television flicked on and off as he continued to push the power button.  “Stupid thing must’a come on somehow an’ it woke me up.”

 

Cloud was still muzzy with sleep himself and a delirious giggle bubbled on his lips before he could stop it.  “The TV isn’t what woke you up,” he explained as he reached for the cellphone on the nightstand.  “It’s my phone alarm.  Today’s the day, remember?  Had to set it early.” 

 

He turned off the alarm and Reno stopped clicking the remote.  The redhead abruptly plopped back down on his back, the remote still in his hand.  Cloud studied him blearily and realized his activity had been done in his sleep.  Fighting another yawn, the blonde reached down and shook his companion by the shoulder.

 

“Come on Reno, we’ve got to get up, get ready and have breakfast before we head out.”

 

The redhead swatted at him and put a pillow over his head.  Cloud shook his head and chuckled, his sleepiness fading slowly.  “I know it’s early, but we need time to wake ourselves up and get ready.  The teams are assembling in two hours.”

 

“Sun hasn’t even come up yet,” Reno’s muffled voice protested.

 

“I know, and I’m sorry about that but we couldn’t wait ‘till the last minute.”  Cloud pulled the covers off of the Turk’s body, ignoring the tempting sight of his nudity.  He shook his shoulder again insistently.  “Get up, Reno.”

 

“Don’t wanna,” the redhead mumbled petulantly. 

 

“Tough,” countered the blonde firmly.  “You’re going to be tired whether you get up now or in another hour.  At least this way you can shower and eat before we go.  Don’t make me drag you out of the bed.”  Cloud yanked the pillow off his lover’s head.

 

Reno groaned and opened one eye to glare balefully up at him.  “There’d better be coffee in that cafeteria when we go down, Strife.”  His warning tone was completely serious.

 

“If there isn’t, I’ll make some for you,” promised the blonde.  He helped Reno sit up and he half-dragged him with him out of the bed and to the bathroom for a shower.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Reno was still yawning repeatedly and grumbling when they walked into the cafeteria together.  Cloud wore combat gear and he had his favorite sword strapped to a scabbard across his back, plus various other weapons concealed in his cargo pants.  Reno was wearing the standard Turk uniform as usual, with his signature goggles resting on his forehead.  The cafeteria was almost full when they arrived because the rest of the strike force had also woken up early to make preparations.  Zack sat with Tseng, Tifa and the kids at one of the long tables and he waved at the two of them and pointed to two chairs he’d saved.  Reeve and Vincent sat at the same table and so did Rude and Elena.

 

“Wonder where Rufus is?” Cloud murmured as he nudged his sleepy companion to keep him from toppling on his feet.

 

“Probably in his office, going over the orders,” Reno yawned.  “Coffee, Blondie.”

 

Cloud took him by the arm and guided him straight to the coffee bar.  “Give him a red-eye,” the blonde ordered when the young woman behind the counter asked what they’d have.  “I’ll have a latte.”

 

“ _’Latte’_ ,” Reno snorted.  “Ya puss.”

 

“I don’t need a major caffeine infusion to function,” Cloud shot back with a smirk.

 

   The server finished making their coffee and Cloud handed them to Reno and told him to go sit at the table.  “Just drink your coffee and try to wake up,” he offered.  “I know what you like, so I’ll put your breakfast plate together for you.  Don’t spill.”

 

Reno took the two coffees and nodded.  “Thanks, man.” 

 

The Turk walked across the room to the table where the others were and Cloud knew it was only his innate dexterity that kept him from stumbling and spilling the hot beverages all over himself.  The blonde shook his head with amusement and got in the buffet line.  He grabbed essentially the same selection for himself and Reno, save for the melon cubes he put on the redhead’s plate versus the small tub of oatmeal he picked for himself.  He joined the others at the table when he was finished, sitting across from Zack and between Denzel and Reno.  The redhead was already half-finished with his coffee and he was still half-asleep.

 

“They wanted to see us off,” Tifa explained when Cloud glanced at Denzel and Marlene questioningly.  “They’ll go straight to school after we’ve left.  Rude has someone filling in for him as their escort while he’s away.”

 

“You be careful, Cloud,” Marlene said seriously, her little face bearing a chastising expression.  “I know how you are!”

 

There were soft chuckles around the table and Cloud smiled.  “I’ll watch myself,” he promised.  He glanced beside him and saw that Reno’s head was nodding.  He nudged the redhead at the same time as Rude and Reno sputtered and grumbled at them, bringing his coffee to his lips for another sip.

 

“Looks like someone’s not a morning person,” observed Zack lightly.

 

“Must be nice to be so freakin’ chipper at the crack of dawn,” Reno mumbled.

 

Zack shrugged.  “Military training.  You get used to it after a while.” 

 

The former Soldier was wearing combat gear of deep blue and green colors and despite his exhaustion Reno appreciated the way the material molded to Zack’s body.  The company had obviously designed the ensemble with flight in mind.  It fit closely enough to his body so that there weren’t many loose parts to cause wind resistance or snag on branches.  A pair of gloves with rubber handgrips lay on the table next to Zack’s plate and Reno pointed them out and asked why he needed gloves in a fight that was going to take place in a warm climate.

 

“They’re to protect my hands,” Zack said with a little sigh.  He opened his left hand and examined the palm, where very thin calluses had begun to form.  “The skin’s still too soft for me to wield a sword for long without blistering, so Reeve had them design protective gloves to go with the rest of my gear.”

 

“Show them the back,” Reeve suggested with a prideful grin.

 

“Oh yeah,” Zack brightened and stood up out of his chair, turning around to present his back to Cloud and the others.  “Check it out; Velcro.”

 

There was a black strip over each of Zack’s shoulder blades where his wings would emerge from, allowing him to keep the insulated, deep blue crew shirt on and still use them.  It was designed to allow the appendages to emerge without restraint and when they were pulled back in, they would presumably tug the Velcro closed again.  Leather straps criss-crossed between the shoulders and held his scabbard and sword in place so that the weapon could be easily drawn and stowed without getting in the way of his wings. 

 

“Pretty cool, huh?” Zack said with boyish enthusiasm. 

 

Reno perked up, his eyes going to the sable-haired fighter’s firm, muscular butt.  The dark green pants weren’t skin-tight but they weren’t as loose as the usual cargo pants typical for military gear and they hugged his ass just right. 

 

“Oh yeah,” Reno agreed.  “It’s a real nice set.”

 

Beside him, Rude cleared his throat and took a drink from his juice.  He pushed Reno’s napkin toward him and motioned to the corner of his mouth subtly.  Reno impulsively reached up to check for drool and he shot a mock glare at his partner when he found none.  Rude smirked silently; amused that he’d made his partner check.

 

“So you’re going to be fighting in the air?” Denzel asked with wide eyes as Zack turned back around and sat down again.

 

“Maybe,” the fighter shrugged.  “It depends on what we’re up against.  I might just do everything from the ground with Cloudy, here.”

 

Cloud looked at Tseng, who was a couple chairs down across from Elena.  “Where’s Rufus going to be during all this?”

 

“Here, safely guarded at headquarters,” answered the Wutaian.  “He wished to come along and be directly involved, but I convinced him it would be better for him to stay out of the line of fire.  I’ve had his personal security doubled until we return.”

 

Reno grimaced.  “You keep putting the boss in a gilded cage like that and he’s going to go stir crazy sooner or later.”  He didn’t want to see Rufus in danger either—especially considering all the times the president had narrowly escaped death over the years—but it had to be hard for the man to sit back and watch everything from the sidelines. 

 

“He’s too important to this organization to risk,” Tseng replied firmly, though Cloud sensed that the Wutaian’s protective attitude toward Rufus went far deeper than practicality.  “At least until we know more about what to expect from the opposition.”

 

“If we’re lucky, we’ll get rid of these bastards fast and we won’t have to worry about it anymore,” Elena said after swallowing a bite of food.  She remembered that there were kids at the table and she cringed a little and mouthed and apology to Tifa.  If Reno could censor his language around the kids, surely she could do it too.  He usually had as much subtlety as a cat in heat.  Suddenly, she remembered something important and she reached for her phone.  “I have to ask my neighbors to feed my cats while I’m gone,” she mumbled.  “I almost forgot!”

 

“You’ve got cats?” Marlene asked with delight.

 

“Yes, but I’m not a ‘crazy cat lady’,” Elena said with a smile.  “I’ve just got two of them.”

 

“Ick,” Denzel said bluntly.

 

“What’s wrong with cats?” inquired Reeve in a bemused tone, smiling with amusement at the boy’s disgusted look.

 

“They cough up hairballs and stink up houses with their litter trays,” answered the teen.

 

“Not if you take proper care of them,” Elena said defensively.  “Sure, if you don’t scoop the litter out every day and only change it once a month, it’s going to stink.  As for hairballs, I’d like to see you swallow your hair and not get sick once in a while, kiddo.”

 

“I think you made her mad,” Zack whispered comparatively from behind his hand.  “Don’t make the crazy cat lady in her come out, buddy.”

 

“I heard that,” Elena snapped.  A moment later, her voice sweetened as her neighbor answered the phone.  “Oh hi, Mrs. Williams.  It’s Elena, from across the street.  Listen, I’m going to be gone for a few days and I’m not sure when I’ll be coming back.  It’s a business trip.  Mmm-hmm.  Oh, would you?  That would be great.  You still have the spare key, right?  Thank you so much!”

 

There was something kind of funny about a Turk lending her key to a neighbor to take care of her pets, but nobody said anything out loud about it.

 

~****************************~

* * *

 

The strike forces boarded the naval transport vessels a little over an hour later.  Cloud had Fenrir loaded onto one of the carriers with several WRO hover vehicles and five ShinRa helicopters.  The passenger transports were smaller and equipped with sleeping quarters and bathrooms, as well as food supplies.  The journey would have been faster by air but there weren’t any flying vehicles that could carry large ground transport and the organization was determined to make sure they had enough firepower to subdue the Deepground forces in the Cosmo area.

 

Tseng’s orders were to take prisoners when possible for interrogation and to take pictures of all captured and killed Deepground operatives for identification purposes.  He wanted to give Cissnei the opportunity to identify her assailants, should they happen to capture or kill any of them.  It was fairly obvious that the Wutaian had special plans for the rapists if they caught them.

 

Tifa and Elena played cards to occupy themselves and Cloud rested quietly in his seat, seemingly napping.  Rude sat beside the blonde and rested as well, while Reeve and Vincent were discussing tactics with Tseng.  Poor Reno began to suffer cabin fever before they were even two hours out to sea. He thought about joining the girls in their card game but he overheard Elena gossiping about men and he changed his mind. 

 

_~I’d rather be around a hot guy than talk about ‘em right now.  Shit, I’m gonna go nuts if I don’t find someone to talk to.  Where the hell is Fair at?~_

Knowing that the good-natured, sexy fighter could provide him with conversational entertainment if nothing else, Reno began to search the ship for Zack.  “Hey, have you seen Wolfy?” he asked one of the sailors he passed.  The man looked at him blankly and he remembered that “Wolfy” was his own special pet name for Zack.  “Fair,” Reno elaborated.  “Zack Fair?  You know, tall guy with collar-length, spiky black hair and a body that won’t quit?”

 

“Uh,” the sailor said uncomfortably, not sure how to respond to Reno’s blatantly gay description of the former Solider.  “I think the guy you’re looking for is up on the top deck…but I don’t look at other guy’s bodies so I might be wrong.”

 

Reno snorted.  “Yeah, like straight guys never notice when other guys have hot bodies.”  He clucked his tongue and patted the blushing sailor on the cheek.  “Relax.  Your dick’s not gonna fall off if you admire another guy’s looks.”

 

Reno snickered with a combination of amusement and annoyance as he left the flustered sailor behind and climbed the stairs leading to the upper deck of the ship.  Hetros always cracked him up…at least, the insecure ones did.  He might have to be more discreet in public with his lovers than they did, but at least he didn’t have to put on a fucking show to feel like a man. 

 

He circled around the top deck, pulling his shaded goggles down over his eyes as he searched for Zack.  He found him around the back of the ship, with his arms propped on the rail as he leaned over and watched the water with interest that was normally reserved for children.  Reno smirked a little, finding it oddly endearing how easily Zack was fascinated with mundane things.

 

~I guess everything’s kind of novel to the guy now, since he’s been a ghost for so many years.  I wonder when little things like that stopped being cool to me?~

He approached the black-haired man, admiring the convenient view of his ass from behind.  Zack didn’t seem to hear him coming and his attention remained focused on the waves below.  Reno came up behind Zack and the other man spoke to him without turning around.

 

“Hey Foxy.  Come to watch the water with me?”

 

Reno was impressed.  “How’d you know I was coming, Fair?  Better yet, how’d you know it was me?”

 

“The wind’s blowing my way,” answered the fighter.  He looked over his shoulder at the Turk and smiled at him.  “It carried your scent with it.”

 

Reno’s nose crinkled and he impetuously lifted one arm to sniff for body odor. 

 

Zack laughed at the gesture and shook his head.  “You don’t stink.”

 

Reno smirked and came up beside him.  “So what do I smell like, then?”

 

“Cinnamon and cloves,” answered Zack.  He looked at him sidelong.  “It’s nice.”

 

The Turk felt his stomach do one of those telltale flips.  He knew what Zack was doing: testing the waters.  The guy was good.  He knew how to flirt without being too obvious about it and his subtle, sidelong look told Reno that he was watching for his reactions.

 

~Too bad for him I’m good at this game, too.  I could be reading him all wrong but I don’t think so.~

 

Of course, while Reno was practiced at the art of seduction he wasn’t as practiced at being tactical about it as Zack was.  He tended to just come right out with it if he was interested in someone and even though he tended to flirt a little with everyone now and then, he didn’t leave a lot open for doubt when he was seriously interested.

 

“Cinnamon and cloves, eh?” Reno repeated, moving a little closer to the fighter.  “Must be my chewing gum and cigarettes you’re smelling.”  He leaned closer to the black-haired man and purposely nuzzled his wind-blown sable hair as he sniffed him.  “Mmm, ya know, you smell like sandalwood.  Nice and masculine but subtle.  I’ll bet Cloud likes that.”

 

Zack turned his head to look him in the eye and his mouth was only inches away from Reno’s.  “So what do you think our blonde boy smells like, Reno?”

 

The redhead had to think about that for a minute because he was distracted by the proximity of Zack’s sculpted lips.  “Hmm, most of the time he kind of smells kind of like rain to me.  You know that scent that gets in the air just before a storm?” 

 

Zack nodded.

 

“Yeah, that’s what Cloud’s scent reminds me of, yo.  Rain and ozone.”

 

A slow smile curved the former Soldier’s lips and a little thrill shot through Reno’s body.  “That’s kind of funny.  You described it pretty much the way I think of it but I always thought of it as Cloud smelling like a cloud.”

 

Reno laughed at the analogy, glad that he’d sought out Zack’s company.  The guy just had a natural glibness and sense of humor that never seemed to run dry.  “That’s one way of putting it,” he agreed.  Zack’s soft smile continued to make his pulse race and the fighter’s eyes stayed on him.

 

“Why don’t you take those shades off so I can see your eyes?” Zack queried softly.

 

Reno was horrified with the realization that he was getting flustered.  Usually he was the one that made people feel swoony and breathless but Fair was making him feel like a teenager again. 

 

“Sun’s too bright,” Reno said.

 

“That’s too bad,” Zack sighed in disappointment.  “Well, do you want to play a game or something?”

 

“A…game?” Reno stared at the man with one eyebrow raised.  Zack had gone from seductive to innocent and boyish in two seconds flat and the Turk almost pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming this encounter.

 

“Yeah,” confirmed Zack with a nod.  “It’s going to be a few hours before we dock and we might as well pass the time with a little fun.”

 

Reno sighed.  He could think of a lot of fun “games” but he doubted any of them were what Zack had in mind.  “What the hell, you’re on,” he agreed.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

“Come on Reno, get into the spirit of it,” Zack chastised. 

 

Reno breathed another heavy sigh and looked around.  There wasn’t much to choose from and he was not only bored but getting annoyed with this game.  “Fine.  I spy with my little eye…something…uh…orange.”

 

Zack considered the observation and turned around, putting his back against the rail as he scanned the deck.  “Hmm, that’s a tough one,” he murmured. 

 

“If ya can’t answer soon I win and this game’s over,” reminded the Turk with faint relief in his voice.  He turned back around to face the railing and rested his arms on them.

 

“Just give me a second,” Zack said lightly.  He spotted a flash of orange peeking out from behind one of the lifeboats and he snapped his fingers.  “It’s a lifejacket, right?”

 

Reno clapped slowly.  “Way to go.”

 

“Okay, my turn.”  Zack either didn’t notice Reno’s sardonic, bored tone or he didn’t care.  “I spy with my little eye…something…blue.”

 

Reno rolled his eyes and groaned, dropping his forehead onto his crossed arms.  “It’s either the ocean or the damned sea…you’ve already used ‘em about half a dozen times, Zack!”

 

Zack chuckled sheepishly.  “Okay, okay…I suck at this game, I’ll admit it.  But hey, we passed some time, didn’t we?”

 

It was on the tip of Reno’s tongue to say they wasted some time, but Zack looked so pleased with himself that he didn’t have the heart.  “I guess so,” the Turk sighed gloomily.

 

Zack studied him and scratched his chin.  He cast another look around and when he was sure that they were alone on the deck, he smiled engagingly at the redhead.  “How about you give me one more shot?”

 

Reno lifted his head from his arms and tugged his goggles up to rest on his forehead.  He gave Zack a long-suffering look and squirmed restlessly.  “Don’t you think we’ve played your game enough, Fair?”

 

“Come on,” Zack coaxed, “Just one more try and I’ll drop it.”

 

Reno was tempted to draw his gun and shoot himself in the head to end the misery.  He turned around and leaned back against the railing, resting his arms on it behind him.  “All right Fair, knock yourself out.” 

 

“Okay,” Zack said happily.  He took a step closer to the Turk and lowered his voice to a droning timber.  “I spy with my little eye…something hot.”

 

Reno’s lips twitched.  “’Hot’ ain’t a color, man.”

 

Zack sighed sadly, but he was grinning suggestively at him.  “Are you sure about that?  Wow, I’m even worse at this than I thought.”

 

“I dunno,” Reno murmured, his ponytail whipping in the breeze, “ya seem to be improving a little.”

 

“You’re crazy,” Zack informed him.

 

“Hey!” Reno’s brows drew together.

 

“I dig that,” Zack finished with a wink.

 

“Oh.”  Reno stared at the black-haired fighter with utter confusion, completely thrown off-balance by his rapid-fire, unpredictable comments. 

 

Zack closed in while the redhead was still trying to figure out what was going on and Reno ended up with his back pressed against the railing and Zack’s hard body a bare inch away from him.  He stared at the other man with bewildered eyes, for once too stunned to react.

 

Zack slid his fingers through the gel-stiffened spikes of Reno’s vivid hair and brought his mouth close to his ear.  “When this is finished,” he promised in a low, seductive voice, “I’d like to prove ‘hot’ can be a color.” 

 

Reno’s eyes fluttered shut as Zack’s lips smiled against his ear, brushing softly against the rim.  He parted his lips and moistened them with the tip of his tongue, ready and eager to feel the other man’s mouth against his.  Zack pulled away and Reno opened his eyes and stared at him with a bewildered expression he couldn’t hide.  With one last wink, the fighter turned on his heel and walked away, heading toward the stairs leading back down to the lower cabin.

 

He couldn’t believe it.  He wanted to shout a demand that Zack bring his tight, sexy ass right back this _instant_ to finish what he’d started, but Reno’s voice was stuck in his throat and he was in a state of disbelief.  He’d never had anyone just walk away once he turned on his sex face.  While he knew they couldn’t very well fuck right there in the open where anyone could come by, he couldn’t _believe_ that Zack walked away without at least giving him a kiss.

 

“Oh, you are one _smooth_ criminal, Wolfy,” Reno muttered as he watched the object of his lust disappear around the bend.  Since nobody else was around, he reached down and adjusted his now erect package in his pants, grimacing with discomfort. 

 

~Great.  Now I’ve got a pocket rocket and nothing to fire it at.  Not only did the smug bastard leave me high and dry but he did it at the worst possible time!  Why couldn’t he wait until this raid was over to pull that stunt?~

 

Aloud, the Turk murmured a promise.  “Zack Fair, I’m gonna ride you ‘till you buckle, when I get the chance.”  He refused to admit that part of his frustration stemmed from getting bested at the game of seduction. 

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

It was late afternoon when they arrived at the harbor on the other continent.  Reno was still in a sour mood, even though he’d relieved his sexual tension in the bathroom as soon as he’d recovered his wits enough to go below deck.  Zack met his eyes briefly across the distance as they began to unload the vehicles and get everyone moved for ground and air transport.  The dark-haired fighter’s amethyst gaze was lazy and sensual on the Turk for a brief moment, scanning his body suggestively before looking away.

 

“Damn him,” Reno muttered. 

 

They couldn’t get his chopper off that ramp fast enough to suit him.  He wanted to be in the air so he could forget about his unsatisfied desire for Zack Fair for a while.  Of course, the angel-winged cretin was assigned to ride in his chopper to the coordinates along with Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and Reeve.  It was going to be hard to forget about the feel of his lips against his ear and the sensual purr of his voice with him sitting in the same aircraft.

 

“Who?” Rude asked.  The bald man stood beside him, also waiting for the chopper.  As usual, the partnered Turks were assigned to work together, with Rude as the copilot.

 

“Fair,” spat the redhead without hesitation.  “Fucking cock-tease.”

 

Rude looked at his partner and raised his shades briefly, studying his tense features with practiced familiarity.  “This isn’t just about how he looks in that gear, is it?”

 

Reno sighed.  “If only.  I don’t wanna talk about it.”

 

Rude grinned slowly.  If he knew Reno, he’d just got his first real taste of his own medicine…only Zack must not have followed up on any sensual promises he made.  “That’s rough.”

 

“Quit sounding so happy about it,” Reno groused. 

 

Rude cleared his throat and put his shades back down over his eyes.  “Just concentrate on the mission, partner.”

 

“Oh, I will,” promised Reno vehemently.  “I’m all fired up and ready to kick some ass, believe me.”  His tourmaline eyes were predatory on Zack as the black-haired man crossed the distance with Cloud and the others.  The chopper was safely unloaded and Reno climbed in and prepared for takeoff, forcing himself to focus his frustration away from Zack and channel it toward the bastards they were going after.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“I’ve talked to Nanaki over the phone and he’s willing to join us,” Cloud said to Reeve, who was sitting in the seat across from him.  “He’s ready to meet us at the arrival point when we get there.”

 

“We could always use the extra help,” Reeve said.  “Has he spotted any signs of these operatives?”

 

“Yeah,” answered the blonde.  “He tracked them as far as the area just outside the Ancient Forest where Cissnei got captured but there were too many for him to take on alone and there aren’t enough warriors in Cosmo Canyon to back him up.”

 

“I’ve got a question,” Zack said when Cloud finished speaking.  “How does a big lion operate a cellphone and where does he keep it?”

 

“I designed a headset for him,” Reeve chuckled.  “And Nanaki is more intelligent than most humans.”

 

“Got it,” Zack nodded.  He glanced through the open cockpit door and found Reno twisted around in his seat looking at him.  He smiled and waved at the redhead, who snarled silently and turned back around to face the front.

 

Cloud noticed the exchange and he frowned at his dark-haired lover.  “What’s going on with you two?” Cloud murmured in his ear with a meaningful nod in the direction of the cockpit.  They’d been getting along so well lately and he’d dared to hope their relationship would develop into something bigger.

 

Zack gave him a mild look.  “Nothing.”  He smiled.  “ _Yet_.”

 

Cloud had a sinking feeling that he knew what Zack was hinting at.  “Tell me you didn’t tease him, Zack.”  He kept his voice low so that only his lover could hear him.

 

“Maybe a little,” Zack admitted with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.  “Just to get the spark going, you know?”

 

Cloud groaned inwardly and shook his head.  “That wasn’t what I meant when I encouraged you to act on things.”  He studied the black-haired fighter with serious, gem-bright eyes and finished, “Man, are _you_ going to be in trouble.”

 

Zack looked at him with raised eyebrows.  “You make it sound like I’m going to go home from school with a note for bad behavior.”

 

“No, you lit a fuse on a bomb,” Cloud corrected, “I’m gonna make sure I’m clear of it before it goes off, too.”

 

Zack chuckled.  “You think so?  Hmm, gotta love redheads.”

 

The look that Cloud gave him said the blonde thought he didn’t know what he was getting himself into.  On the contrary, if half of the things he’d heard about Reno’s vigor were true he knew exactly what he was getting into and frankly, Zack was looking forward to it.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“Cloud!”  Nanaki loped to the helicopter as the fighter and his team climbed out of it.  While the militia group with them opened the cargo doors to get Fenrir out for him, Cloud smiled and jogged toward his leonine friend, meeting him halfway.  Nanaki reared on his hind legs and put his huge paws on the blonde’s shoulders for balance, making him stagger a little as he bumped his head against Cloud’s cheek with affection.  Tifa came up behind the blonde and Nanaki gave her a gentler nudge of greeting, mindful of her slighter build.

 

“Reeve and Vincent are here too,” Tifa said with a smile as she scratched Nanaki’s head and made him purr.  “How have you been?”

 

“Well, save for the disappearances of some of the Canyon people,” answered the lion. “Unfortunately I have unpleasant news concerning the suspected Deepground members.”

 

“What is it?” questioned Cloud with a frown.

 

“I wanted to tell you when we spoke on the phone earlier, but we lost connection before I could do so.  It appears that the enemies have been on the move and many of them have vacated their base here.”

 

Zack had come up beside Cloud and the two fighters looked at each other with grim expressions.  “How many do you think got away?” asked Cloud.

 

“If I were to venture a guess,” Nanaki mused thoughtfully, “I would say approximately half of them.  There’s still a formidable enough force left behind…otherwise I would have led an attack on them.  I’m afraid, however, that these people are remaining one step ahead of the WRO.  It’s possible that they began to migrate to an as of yet un-guessed location to combine their scattered forces before they were discovered.”

 

“That would explain why the base at Midgar was abandoned by the time we got there,” Tifa said with a sigh.

 

“Or someone’s giving them a heads-up,” Zack suggested.

 

“It does seem pretty convenient that they keep evacuating their bases before we can get to them,” Cloud agreed.  “We may have a mole somewhere in the organization.”  He sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, selecting Tseng’s number.  He relayed the information to the Turk leader and asked what he and Reeve wanted them to do.

 

Tsung asked him to hold for a moment while he spoke with Reeve.  After a moment, he spoke.  “There’s no help for it right now,” the Wutaian said.  “The mission will resume as planned.  We’ll move in and clear the area of the remaining Deepground operatives.  Remind the people under your command that they are to take prisoners when possible, Cloud.”

 

“I will,” agreed the blonde.  “Well get started as soon as everyone’s ready to go and you and Reeve give the word.”  He ended the call and told his companions what was going on.

 

“Well, it shouldn’t be a total loss,” Zack said with a shrug.  “As long as we can catch some of them we might find out more about this mess.”

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	15. Chapter 15

“Alliance”

Chapter 15

~**********************************~

* * *

 

With their allied forces assembled, the WRO, ShinRa militia and Cloud’s small group moved in on the Ancient Forest.  Led by Nanaki, the ground troops moved in first while the air force followed from above, ready to drop the more specialized fighters into the fray.  The plan was for the elite forces to surround the Deepground operatives while the ground forces attacked head-on, hopefully boxing them in and preventing any retreat. 

 

Vincent peered down at the ground through the open hatch of the cabin door, his harness already attached to his chest.  Cloud, Tifa and Zack were putting their harnesses on while the gunman kept an eye on the ground forces.  They were just starting to fly over the thick canopy of the Ancient Forest and soon the trees and undergrowth would make it difficult to see what was going on, much less find a suitable place to descend.  It would be up to Reno to find a clearing for them.   

 

“Zack, why are you putting a harness on?” Tifa asked as she finished fastening hers.  “I’m not saying you can’t use the cables but do you really need to?”

 

 The black-haired fighter looked at her and then down at the harness he was just about to finish securing.  “I guess I just forgot for a minute,” he said sheepishly.  “I was just operating on past experience.”  He took the safety device off and looked kind of embarrassed.

 

“Well, you spent more time doing it this way than using your own wings,” Cloud comforted.  “I’d have probably done the same thing.”

 

“Thanks, buddy,” Zack said with a grin, feeling a little less stupid.

 

“It’s started,” Vincent announced over the noise of the rotaries and the wind.

 

Cloud secured the final buckle in his harness and joined his friend by the hatch, scanning the forest they were flying over.  He could see the bursts of gunfire through the canopy and from somewhere beneath, there was a small explosion that sent a cloud of dust and dirt into the air. 

 

“Remember not to go crazy with the explosives, you two,” Cloud shouted to Reno and Rude.  The last thing they needed was for the helicopter forces to set the forest on fire and burn everyone up, including the people on their side.  Plus, he’d promised Aerith they’d try to keep the environmental damage to a minimum. 

 

“Yeah, we got it,” Reno assured him over his shoulder.  “We’ll save the big guns for more open areas.  Think I’d risk you, Blondie?”  He shot a grin at the blonde.  Rude kept an eye out for a good drop-off spot while Reno flew them further over the canopy, circling around the fighting below.  Other ShinRa choppers were doing the same thing.  Reeve and Tseng’s aircrafts were ahead of all the others.

 

“Reno, Rude, do you copy?”

 

The redhead adjusted his headphones.  “We copy, Reeve.  What’s up?”

 

“The forces attacking our people on the ground seem to be a decoy,” answered the WRO leader.  “We’ve spotted a larger force retreating from the other side of the forest and we need backup to give chase.”

 

Just as Reeve finished his announcement, a streaking missile fired from somewhere on the ground and narrowly missed his helicopter. 

 

“Damn, where did _that_ come from??” Reeve exclaimed.

 

There was no time to debate because several more followed the first and one of the choppers got hit and went down, but the pilot and occupants fortunately jumped out and drifted safely to the ground on parachutes before the aircraft crashed. 

 

“ _Fuck_!” Reno swore.  He twisted in his seat to shout a warning to his companions.  “Everybody hang tight, back there!”

 

Vincent slammed the hatch shut and everyone scrambled for the seats, quickly buckling in as Reno took evasive maneuvers.  The other helicopters did the same but their pilots weren’t as skilled as the redhead and another one was hit.  It didn’t go down like the first but it was forced to retreat.

 

Reno swore again and spoke into his mouthpiece.  “Reeve, you and Tseng get the hell outta here or you’re gonna get rolled!”

 

“You’ll have to retreat too,” the engineer insisted, “drop off Vincent and the others on the other side of the forest and stay clear!”

 

Reno looked at Rude and they nodded at each other, silently communicating with one another as they often did. 

 

“We can handle it,” Reno said into the mouthpiece.  “Our guys need air back-up and if anybody can give it to ‘em right now, it’s us.” 

 

His eyes widened as a missile streaked towards him and he banked sharply to the right, practically tilting the chopper on its side.  Rude hastily grabbed hold of the overhead grips and pressed his lips together, avoiding looking out his window because his side of the aircraft was now facing the ground.

 

Tseng’s voice broke in over the comm. unit.  “That’s a negative, Reno.  The ground-to-air fire is too heavy, even for you.”

 

“Don’t get cocky, Red,” agreed Reeve.

 

“I’m not being _‘cocky’_ ,” snapped the redhead, “It’s the simple truth, man.  You _both_ know it, too.”  He righted the chopper and banked back to the left at a less steep angle.  “Let us handle this!”

 

Reeve and Tseng’s aircrafts were angling away from the forest below, getting out of range of the missiles.  Tseng’s voice was steady but wary when he spoke again.

 

“Very well.  If the two of you really think you can do this, you have permission.  We’re dropping off our fighters and hanging back.  Be careful.”

 

“Got it,” Reno said.  He turned to his partner.  “Ready, big guy?”

 

Rude had already flipped the release on the firing panel and started activating the guns.  He gave Reno the “thumbs up” sign and pulled down the targeting visor from the ceiling.  While Reno evaded the incoming projectiles from the ground, Rude began to return fire, aiming at where the missiles were coming from.  He couldn’t see well enough through the canopy to get a lock on them but he was able to unload a hail of bullets close enough to the general direction to scatter whomever was launching them and stall them.

 

Meanwhile in the cabin, Zack’s face took on a wild expression that Cloud was all too familiar with.  He watched with wide blue eyes as the dark-haired fighter unbuckled his safety harness and made his way over to the cabin door, holding on to the ceiling, chairs and whatever else his hands could reach for balance as he went.

 

“Zack?” Cloud hollered over the noise.  He started to unbuckle his own restraints impulsively.

 

“Keep yourself strapped in, Cloud,” Zack barked, his eyes blazing with adrenaline.  “You just stay focused on stopping those runners and let me take care of these missiles!”

 

Cloud froze, staring at the taller man.  He was forcibly reminded of Zack’s comment the other day that he’d never actually _seen_ the Lieutenant.  He was assaulted with foggy memories of the other fighter tearing through the ranks of Hojo’s pursuing forces while he sat helpless and limp.  He’d only been partially sentient so it had seemed like a dream to him, but now he was seeing that side of his old friend with fully aware eyes.

 

“What are you doing?” Tifa hollered as Zack yanked the catch down on the sliding door and pulled it open with a groan of exertion. 

 

Zack looked over his shoulder at her and spread his feet on the deck for balance as he drew the handguns holstered to his outer thighs.  “I’m saying ‘hello’ to our friends down there, sweet cheeks.  I’ll meet up with you later at the base camp.”  He activated the Barrier materia socketed to the bangle he’d been issued, forming a shield around his body to provide some protection from flying bullets and missiles.

 

 Tifa started unbuckling her safety harness impulsively, thinking he was out of his mind.  For a split second, she forgot that he could manifest wings and when he dove out of the open hatch she screamed his name and strained against her belt. 

 

Vincent was sitting closest to the door and he leaned over and watched Zack hurtle through the air.  The sable-haired fighter’s ivory wings emerged from his back and he dove like a predatory bird, heading straight for the spot where the most recent missile had been fired.

 

“He’s fine,” the gunman assured Tifa, shooting a crimson-eyed look her way.  “He’s heading for a clearing.”

 

“Yo, did Fair just jump out?” Reno hollered from up front.

 

“Yes,” Cloud answered through gritted teeth.  His fear for Zack made his heart thunder in his chest so strongly that he could almost hear it over the wind and helicopter rotaries.

 

“Shit!  Stay strapped in and hang the fuck on,” Reno shouted, “we’re gonna give him some cover before we go to slam those running chickenshits!”

 

Cloud tightened his harness numbly, trying not to imagine his dark-haired lover getting shot down or struck by a rocket.  What Zack did was reckless.  The guy was charging at who knew how many enemy forces, all by himself. 

 

_~All by himself…just like before.~_

Cloud was struck with sudden moment of clarity.  Zack might not be completely back in his element right now, but he was doing what he did _best_.  It should have scared him even more.  It should have made him lose his head and tear his restraints off to leap out of the helicopter after him.  Instead, the epiphany made Cloud smile a little. 

 

He knew that if Zack had any doubt that they’d see one another in the flesh again, he would have taken a moment to do more than blurt an order at him.  The situation wasn’t suited for the two of them fighting side-by-side and he had a gut feeling that they would get that chance later.

 

Of course, the sudden, stomach-twisting dive that Reno conducted wiped the confident little smile from Cloud’s face and made him slap a hand over his mouth.  He turned his head to the left and looked straight _down_ at the open cockpit.  The velocity of the descent lifted Cloud and his companions from their seats and if it weren’t for the safety harnesses, they probably would have tumbled to the back of the cabin to crash against the cargo doors.

 

Reno shouted recklessly as he put the chopper in a nosedive, following Zack down to the canopy.  Rude’s face would have probably turned as white as a sheet if his skin pigment weren’t naturally dark.  As it was, he took on an interesting shade of grey and pressed his lips tightly together.  He vaguely registered the sound of the cabin door slamming shut again and he assumed that Valentine was responsible—though he couldn’t guess how the raven-haired gunman managed to seal the hatch again without getting out of his seat and ending up flattened against the back wall of the cabin.

 

~****************************~

* * *

 

Safely out of range of the missiles now, Reeve’s helicopter hovered over the Ancient Forest.  The WRO leader watched as a small form dove out of Reno’s chopper like an arrow, heading straight for the canopy below.  The sudden streak of white emerging from the figure’s back explained who it was and the next thing Reeve saw was Reno’s helicopter taking an abrupt, wild dive, following in the former Soldier’s wake.

 

“Shiva, even the damned helicopter’s crazy,” Reeve muttered, his heart constricting in his chest.  Vincent was on that aircraft and it was getting dangerously close to the thick awning of primeval trees.  He pulled the mic to his mouth and checked the frequency on the comm. unit. 

 

“Tseng, are you seeing this?” Reeve queried in a raw voice.

 

“Oh yes,” answered the Wutaian in a faintly surprised tone.

 

“What in Gaia’s name is Reno _doing?_ ”  Reeve watched the reckless descent of Zackary Fair and the ShinRa chopper piloted by Reno with horrified amazement.

 

“What comes naturally to him, I presume,” Tseng answered calmly. 

 

In the distance, Reno’s chopper began firing its automatic weapons, cutting down some of the tree limbs that it was getting dangerously close to.  A rocket fired from the aircraft and Reeve heard the resulting explosion as it hit the ground below.

 

“What _exactly_ would you say that is?” Reeve sputtered.  He pictured himself picking up pieces of Vincent, Cloud and Tifa and he was sure he was on the verge of a heart attack.

 

“Spontaneous improvising,” answered the Turk readily.  There was a hint of worry in Tseng’s voice but he controlled it well.  “Reno is very clever and he’s the best pilot I have ever known.  Give it a moment before you panic, Reeve.”

 

The engineer swallowed, feeling like his esophagus was lined with sandpaper.  He knew that Reno was particularly brilliant when it came to flying helicopters but _this_ …this was by far the most daring and stupid move he’d ever witnessed from the redhead.  Reeve shut his eyes and prayed to Gaia that whatever Zack and Reno were trying to accomplish didn’t result in the death of them, his friends and his lover.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

_~Okay, I didn’t expect this to happen.~_

Zack admitted it to himself as he dove to the earth, aiming for the small break that he’d spotted in the canopy.  He heard the rhythmic beating of the propellers as Reno’s chopper followed in his wake and he looked back over his shoulder, surprised.  His plan had been to dive in and start dismantling the missile launchers while Reno piloted the chopper to drop off Cloud and the others to stop the fleeing Deepground members.  It seemed that the redhead had other ideas, however.

 

“Crazy Turk,” Zack grunted as he closed the distance to the green smattering of tree limbs and leaves.  Through the tangle of branches and undergrowth, he spotted snatches of human movement and he took aim with his guns and started firing. 

 

_~Too bad I’m a suck shot with these things, but it’ll make them scatter and give me the chance to land and whip out the good stuff.~_

He nearly yelped with surprise as the sound of much more powerful gunfire rattled above and behind him.  He felt the disturbance in the air as the passing bullets streaked by him and the noise of cracking branches and rustling leaves followed soon after.  Zack realized what was happening a moment later when his way was suddenly cleared as pieces of the upper layers of trees fell away to the ground.

 

_~Gotta hand it to Reno and Rude; they know how to handle that bird.~_

A rocket streaked past—mere inches from his right wing—and Zack almost lost control of his flight. 

 

_~WHAT THE…~_

His confused thoughts were interrupted as the rocket exploded below, causing an eruption of earth and a mild explosion.  He heard frantic, confused shouts and he risked a glance up over his shoulder at the chopper.  It was pulling back up and leveling the trajectory again.

 

“Oh, I get it,” Zack muttered.  He smiled.  Reno and Rude had just cleared the way a bit for him and scattered the nearby Deepground forces enough to give him an edge.

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

“Way’s cleared for him,” Reno said with satisfaction.  He pulled the chopper out of its dive and leveled off, heading for the far end of the forest where Reeve had said some of the Deepground forces were retreating.  “You guys doing okay back there?”

 

“Could be worse,” answered Cloud in a nauseated voice.

 

Reno smirked and glanced at his partner.  Rude looked like he was fighting to keep his lunch down too.  Some people just didn’t have the stomach for flight.  Reno would have liked to give him a smooth ride, but the missiles were still coming and it was either hold steady and get blown up or keep maneuvering and risk somebody blowing chunks.

 

“There’s puke bags under your seats,” Reno hollered over his shoulder.  He tilted the chopper to the right and avoided another incoming projectile.  Rude was gamely returning fire as well as he could, swallowing his nausea and staying focused.

 

“Cloud, get ready to use the drop cables,” Reno announced as they neared the back edge of the forest, “we’re almost there.”  They were going out of range of the ground fire and Reno was able to fly the chopper in a straight line again.

 

Tifa and Vincent got the cables ready to be tossed over the edge of the hatch while Cloud recovered from his attack of airsickness.  When they reached the edge of the forest, Vincent pulled the door open and looked down.  He thought he recognized Elena amongst the operatives that were fighting on the ground to cut off the enemy’s escape.  By the number of fleeing Deepground operatives he counted, it was no wonder that Nanaki hadn’t been able to organize an attack.  If this was less than half their numbers, Deepground had recovered from the Omega incident faster than they had thought.

 

“Cloud, are you ready?” Vincent asked, looking across the cabin at the blonde.

 

Cloud nodded and unbuckled his seat harness.  He joined the gunman and Tifa near the hatch and checked his weapons before hooking his harness up to one of the cables.  Reno turned around in his seat to watch and the redhead called out to Cloud.

 

“Kick ass and watch yourself, Blondie,” said the Turk when Cloud looked at him.

 

The fighter nodded.  “You too.”

 

Vincent went down first, followed by Tifa.  Cloud descended to the ground last and he swore and ducked as a bullet flew over his head.  He looked up to see a line of Deepground operatives shooting at him and the other teams, trying to cover their companions’ escape.  Vincent was already returning fire and Elena was up ahead to the left, taking some of them out with her gun while using a rock formation for cover.

 

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other, both knowing that they did their best work in melee range.  They followed Zack’s earlier example and used the materia they had equipped, raising barriers to block any bullets that they couldn’t dodge. 

 

“Ready?” Tifa asked. 

 

 Cloud drew his sword and nodded.  They took off together, dodging and weaving as they closed the distance between themselves and the line of enemy marksman.  Cloud saw a male form leaping through the air at him and he rolled, avoiding the incoming attack nimbly.  The enemy struck the ground where he’d been standing with such force there was little doubt in Cloud’s mind that he was Mako enhanced. 

 

Tifa kept going and Cloud faced off against his attacker, studying him with narrowed blue eyes.  He briefly wondered why he’d singled him out but considering that everyone else on the field wore either ShinRa combat gear or Turk uniforms, it made some sense that he would assume Cloud was a special operative.  The man was heavily built and he had short-cropped brown hair and Mako-bright, green eyes.  He had a cruel look on his face and he carried a rather impressive-sized axe. 

 

Cloud wasted no time and charged him.  He saw Tifa launch a flying kick at the head of one of the shooters and as he went down, she knocked another one off his feet with a low, sweeping kick.  Cloud was glad that she was taking them down hard and fast while he was engaged with the axe wielder.  His opponent struck with sheer, brute strength but he was lacking skill.  Cloud blocked the swooping axe with his thick sword, grunting with exertion as his feet skidded on the ground from the strength of the blow. 

 

“You think you can stop what’s coming?” the Deepground operative snarled, his eyes half-mad.  “Do you think we’re the only ones?”  He roared and swung at Cloud again.

 

The blonde rolled beneath the attack and came up with his weapon ready.  “Do you think you could shut up?” 

 

He came at his opponent then, launching blow after blow and putting him on defensive.  A bullet whizzed by and Cloud grunted as it grazed his left shoulder, scattering droplets of bright blood on the ground.  His momentary lapse gave his opponent time to counterstrike and Cloud ended up on his back, pushing against the axe with his sword.  The blade of the enemy’s weapon was getting closer and closer to his face and though Cloud was also Mako-enhanced, his opponent was bigger and stronger than him.

 

He knew he couldn’t beat the man in a contest of strength, so Cloud had to rely on dexterity to keep his face from being split open.  With a grunt of effort, he twisted his body and rolled to the side, kicking out at the enemy and striking him in the solar plexus with his knee.  They broke apart and Cloud got to his feet and charged again, not giving the other man a chance to recover.  The enemy tried to raise his axe and block the blonde’s incoming swing but he was off-balance.  His head flew from his shoulders a moment later and Cloud’s sword was bathed with abnormally bright blood. 

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Zack smirked inwardly at the open-mouthed, half-panicked expressions on the faces of his enemies as he swooped at them.  Two of them were already down, one with his leg blown off from the explosion of the missile from the chopper and the other with a stray bullet in his chest.  Zack shot one of the gawking enemies in the shoulder and hit another one in the knee before he put his guns away and drew his broadsword.  As soon as his feet touched down, he drew his wings in and tore through the ranks, his weapon flashing in the dappled sunlight. 

 

They hardly had the chance to fight back before they were cut down.  Zack didn’t stop until there were none left to oppose him.  He looked around at the scattered bodies, grimacing with distaste.  It was ugly and brutal and above all, _unfair_ …but his only other alternative would have been to ask them nicely to stop firing missiles at his friends—and _that_ would have gone over like a turd in a punchbowl.

 

He heard a soft, gurgling groan to his left and he turned to find one of his victims still alive, clutching at the open wound in his stomach to keep his intestines from spilling out.  Zack swallowed a lump of remorse and pity as he approached the man.  Like the rest of the missile operators, he was wearing close-fitting gear of green and brown colors for camouflage.  He looked up at the approaching swordsman with pain-glazed, glowing yellow eyes.

 

“End it,” the Deepground operative pleaded in a choked voice.

 

Zack nodded, his throat too tight to speak.  He drew one of his pistols and fired at close range, putting a bullet in the man’s brain and ending his suffering.  For a few moments, Zack stood there with the gun still trained on the now deceased operative.  His hand trembled and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

 

“Goddammit all,” Zack whispered. 

 

He’d forgotten the ugly reality of combat.  This wasn’t training; this was war and people were going to die.  Some of them were probably good people too, even if they were the enemy.  He looked around at the bodies he’d slaughtered and wondered how many of them were taken by force and injected with Mako.  If they were, what drove them to fight alongside their abductors?  Did Deepground brainwash them or did they simply come to hate normal humans when they realized they could no longer fit in their world?

 

As his adrenaline rush died, he became aware of the sounds of combat to the south, where Nanaki and the ground forces had come in.  To the east, west and north he heard more missiles firing and the faint sound of helicopter blades.  It seemed that Reno and Rude had come back into range, though why they would do that was a question Zack couldn’t answer.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

              

 

“Why are we doing this again, partner?”  Rude kept the targeting visor over his eyes and continued shooting into the canopy in the general direction of the streaking rockets.

 

“To keep ‘em busy, man,” answered the redhead as he banked to the east and avoided another missile.  “It’ll give Zack a chance to take them down and maybe they’ll even run out of ammo trying to hit us.  Then Tseng and Reeve can send in their choppers and help finish this.”

 

Rude mumbled under his breath uncertainly but he stayed focused on his task.  For the moment, the other choppers were focused on shooting down the Deepground members that were trying to run.  He and Reno were the only ones on the air strike force that were staying in range of the missile launchers in the forest below.

 

“We’ll be okay,” Reno promised confidently.  “The day I get taken down by some mutated turkeys and their piss-poor aim is the day I need to call it quits on piloting, yo.”

 

Rude would have personally been happy if Reno would call it quits right now…not for his own sake but because he hated the thought of his partner getting blown up.  He didn’t argue with him though and he didn’t remind him that if they _did_ get hit, he was going to have to call it quits anyway because he wouldn’t be alive to pilot anymore.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Zack was faced with a dilemma.  He could go south and join Nanaki’s team, possibly capturing instead of killing.  Or, he could move along to the next missile launcher and take the operatives out.  He was so distracted by the inward debate that he almost didn’t hear the approach of running footsteps.  There was no verbal warning and very little sound as someone came at him from behind, and Zack turned at the last minute and brought his sword up to block a wicked pair of curved knives.  He knocked the blades aside and broke away from his attacker.

 

“Damn, it’s a chick,” he groaned aloud.  He had all the respect in the world for the fighting abilities of females but he _hated_ hitting women.  His parents raised him to never strike a lady unless there was absolutely no other choice. 

 

She had black hair that was streaked with purple and it looked like in lieu of using scissors to style it, she’d hacked it with a knife.  It was wild and uneven, falling to her shoulders.  Her eyes were vivid, neon blue and her pale face was full of mad rage as she launched another attack at him.

 

Zack evaded her attack and tried to reason with her.  “Listen, I don’t like hitting girls—”

 

She didn’t listen.  Instead, she came at him again in a twisting flurry of blades and limbs.  Zack swore as he blocked her attacks.  One of them got through and nicked him on the arm, rudely reminding him that woman or not, he was going to have to put a stop to this or end up as carved kibble.  Zack found an opening and he took it.  He cringed as he punched the girl in the face and made her stagger.

 

“I said I don’t _like_ hitting girls,” he informed her as she glared hatefully at him.  “Didn’t say I _wouldn’t_.  Now how about we chill out and talk about this?”

 

“I have nothing to say to you, animal!”  She came at him again and this time, he put a little more vigor in his defense.  “I’ll cut your tongue out!”

 

“You sure about that?” Zack grunted.  “I can think of other things you could do with my tongue that would be a lot more fun.”

 

“Disgusting filth!” she spat. 

 

Zack lost his wind as her foot connected with his stomach and he almost dropped his guard.

 

_~All right, now I’m getting mad.~_

“You wanna talk about who’s ‘disgusting’?”  He glared right back at her.  “How about your buddies, huh?  What about what they did to the Turk girl they caught?”

 

She narrowed her eyes at him.  “The ShinRa bitch deserved whatever she got.”

 

Zack’s pupils dilated.  “Oh, you shouldn’t have said that, honey.” 

 

He charged at her the moment the words left his mouth and his rage lent him speed that she couldn’t counter.  His furious sword strokes soon knocked her smaller blades away into the grass, disarming her.  He tripped her and she fell onto her back.  Zack straddled the woman and snarled down at her, putting the point of his sword over her throat.  He _almost_ drove it in…he wanted to…but she stared up at him and he saw the fear she tried to hide.

 

“Say ‘goodnight’, sweetheart,” Zack growled.  Instead of stabbing her in the throat, he dropped his sword and punched her, hard enough to knock her out.  He was breathing heavily, his gloved hands clenched into fists as he stared down at the woman.  “You’re really lucky you’re a girl,” he muttered as he retrieved his sword and got back up. 

 

The sound of someone crashing through the bushes put Zack on guard again.  He was fired up now and his earlier guilt was salved.  All he had to do to get through this was tell himself that each and every one of these Deepground bastards was responsible for Cissnei’s condition. 

 

“Come and get it, assholes,” the former Soldier muttered as he waited to see how many opponents would come out of the vegetation.  He lowered his sword with surprise when a powerful, orange-red lion bounded into the small clearing, followed by a group of WRO militia.

 

 Nanaki looked around at the bodies on the blood stained ground, assessing the situation quickly.  His orange eyes settled on Zack and he spoke.  “Where are the others?”

 

“Chasing down the guys that are trying to get away,” Zack explained.  “I jumped ship to go after the missile launchers, so the air teams can help without getting shot down.”

 

“Are there any survivors here?” Nanaki questioned, sniffing the air with a feline grimace.  He didn’t seem to enjoy the death surrounding them any more than Zack did, but he was calm and practical.

 

“This one,” Zack said as he nudged the unconscious woman with his boot.  He scowled down at her.  “I wanted to kill her, though.”

 

The lion studied him thoughtfully, knowing from Cloud’s descriptions of him that Zackary Fair wasn’t the sort to kill because he “wanted to”.  He did it out of necessity and Nanaki wondered what the woman had done to make such a man want to see her dead.  He nodded at his team and indicated the unconscious female with a paw.

 

“Take her with the others to the base camp,” Nanaki ordered.  Two of the WRO members came forward and restrained the woman with handcuffs before picking her up and carrying her away.  To Zack, he said; “We’ve defeated most of the ground forces to the south.  If you’d care to join us, we can move on to the other missile launchers and clear them out, too.”

 

Zack nodded.  “Happy to help with that.”

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Cloud stood in the bloody field and stared at the carnage.  The few survivors had been rounded up and taken to a holding transport.  The rest were either dead or escaped.  Now the WRO and Turks were wading through the mess and taking pictures of all of the bodies, for identification purposes.  Some were once civilians that had gone missing and the WRO intended to notify their families if they were able to identify them.  ShinRa choppers circled overhead, searching for any fleeing Deepground operatives they might have missed. 

 

Tifa was sitting on the ground with her back against the trunk of a tree, getting her right arm bandaged by Elena. 

 

Cloud approached her and looked at her with concern.  “How is it?”

 

“It’s not much worse than yours,” Tifa said with a pointed look at the bleeding gash in Cloud’s shoulder.  “You should have someone look at that.  It might not be serious enough for a Cure spell but it could still get infected.”

 

“Yes, Mom.”

 

Tifa made a face at him.

 

“Okay, I’m done here,” Elena said as she finished wrapping Tifa’s arm.  She motioned to Cloud.  “Come here so I can do yours too.”

 

He silently squatted down and allowed the blonde Turk to see to his injury.  Her hands were gentle as they wiped the blood away with antiseptic soaked gauze and applied antibiotic lotion to the gash.

 

~Zack was right…Elena’s not so bad after all. She’s actually kind of nice.  Guess I just never got the chance to see it before.~

Cloud saw movement coming out of the forest and he looked up to see Zack and Nanaki approaching with some of the ground team members.  Zack was limping a little and there was a cut in his left arm and drying blood all over him, but other than that he seemed unharmed.  His eyes met Cloud’s across the distance and he smiled tiredly and increased his pace, jogging as much as his injured leg would allow him to.

 

“What happened to your leg?” Cloud asked when Zack stumbled to a stop before him.

 

“Wrenched my knee a little,” the black-haired man answered, grimacing as he tried to put his weight down on the leg.  “It’ll be okay with a little hot and cold therapy.  How about you two?”  His eyes scanned Cloud and Tifa with faint anxiety.  “Looks like you both copped a couple of bo-bo’s.”

 

“Just a few nicks and bruises,” answered Cloud with a shrug.  Elena was bandaging his arm now and the sting was fading a little.  “You’ve got a cut on your arm, too.”

 

“Yeah,” Zack looked down at the wound and he smiled a little.  “Finally, I’ll have a scar or two.”

 

“You want scars?” Tifa asked with raised eyebrows.

 

He shrugged.  “I’m not saying I want to look like a road map, but it makes me feel a little more at home in this body to have a couple of battle scars.  Hey, where’s Vincent?”  He looked around with a frown, scanning the scattered forces for the red-caped gunman.

 

“He went with Reeve back to the base camp,” answered Tifa.  “They’re getting ready to transport the prisoners to the harbor.”

 

“How many did we get?” Zack sat down beside the brunette and stretched his injured leg out, wincing at the throb of pain in his knee.

 

“Only about a dozen,” she sighed.  “Some of them killed themselves when they realized they couldn’t get away.  Whatever they’ve been planning must be pretty important to them if they’re willing to die to keep it secret.”

 

“That level of fanaticism is dangerous, indeed,” Nanaki remarked as he came up behind Zack.  “I do hope that the WRO can get information, but I don’t believe the captives will talk without extreme measures of incentive.”

 

“Somehow I don’t think anyone’s going to have a problem with the use of ‘extreme measures’,” Zack said wryly. 

 

A helicopter landed several yards away and Reno climbed out of it, followed by Rude.  The redhead almost tripped on a body and he cursed, shaking his bloodied shoe with disgust.  He spotted Cloud and Zack and he hurried over, watching his footing as he made his way through the obstacle course of death.  Rude followed silently behind him. 

 

“Damn, Blondie…you had yourself a little field day out here,” remarked the Turk when he made it to his blonde lover’s side.

 

“I didn’t do all of this,” Cloud scoffed.

 

Reno pulled a clove out of his breast pocket and put it between his lips.  “Yeah, but I can tell which ones ya _did_ get.  Never leave ‘em in one piece, right?”  He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag.

 

Cloud shrugged.  “They started it.”  His sapphire eyes were shadowed with guilt as he looked around and saw some of his handiwork, though.

 

“You’re right, they _did_ start it,” Reno said as he squatted beside him and waved away his smoke.  “Don’t get that look on your face, babe.”

 

“They’d have done the same to you if they had the chance,” Zack added.  “I feel bad about it too, but sometimes we don’t get a choice, Sunshine.”

 

Cloud nodded silently and lowered his golden lashes.  Reno sighed and stroked his feathery hair soothingly before his sea-green eyes examined Zack.  “Looks like you took down a couple dozen yourself, Fair.  Ya look like you just went through a slaughterhouse.”

 

Zack glanced down at his blood-dampened clothes and grimaced with distaste.  “Yeah, it wasn’t a picnic.  The blood’s attracting insects, too.”

 

“They have clean uniforms at the base camp,” Rude said.

 

“Yeah, they planned for a messy situation,” confirmed Reno.  “They’ll have buckets and washcloths ready for people too, so you can at least clean up a little until we get back home and you can have a shower.”  He took another drag of his clove and turned his head away to exhale, fanning the smoke so that it didn’t blow in anyone’s face.  Zack found the gesture a little surprising.

 

“I never pictured you as a courtesy smoker,” the sable-haired fighter said with a little grin.

 

Reno smirked at him.  “I only do it for people I like, man.  As a matter of fact, I’m gonna finish this over there.  The wind’s trying to shift.”  He gave Cloud’s shoulder a parting squeeze before standing up and walking away from everyone.

 

“Zack, why don’t you use a Cure spell on your knee?” Tifa asked when the former Soldier struggled to his feet and groaned softly.

 

Zack shook his head.  “It’s not serious enough to drain materia over it.”

 

“Or you’re just trying to be macho and cool in front of everyone,” Tifa guessed with a dry smirk.

 

“Sugarlips, I _am_ macho and cool,” Zack drawled.  “I don’t have to try.”

 

Cloud shook his head and a tentative smile found its way on his lips.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 

 

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

“Alliance”

Chapter 16

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“The mission was successful, Sir.”

 

Rufus relaxed in his seat, pleased with the report.  “Very good, Tseng.  How many casualties were there on our side?”

 

“Very few,” answered the Wutaian.  “We lost seven ShinRa militia and four WRO operatives.  There were no deaths amongst the Turk ranks.  However, we have another problem.”

 

Rufus held back a groan.

 

_~What fresh hell is this?~_

“Go on,” he said aloud.

 

“The Deepground forces were in the process of evacuating when we arrived,” Tseng explained.  “Half of them were already gone when we got there and the remaining operatives staged a decoy to keep us busy while more escaped.  We caught up with them anyhow but I can’t help but wonder if we have an inside leak.”

 

Rufus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.  “It does seem suspicious that our enemies are always on the move when we close in on them.  How many did you capture?”

 

“Thirteen.”

 

Rufus frowned.  “Only thirteen?  Didn’t you tell me this was a large force?”

 

“It was,” Tseng agreed, “but they were determined to avoid capture.  They fled, fought to the death or committed suicide to protect their secrets.  Some escaped but we’ve taken photos of the rest…both dead and captured.  I intend to have Cissnei look through them when we return, if she can bear it.  With your permission, if any of her attackers are amongst the prisoners I would like them separated from the others for…special treatment.”

 

“Of course.”  Rufus wasn’t without sympathy for Cissnei’s plight and he had no compunctions about treating her assailants to a slow, torturous death.  “I suspect I don’t have to tell you that I want all of the prisoners heavily interrogated.  Let them know that those who cooperate will be rewarded, while those who don’t will suffer a painful death.”

 

“What shall their reward be for cooperation, Sir?  They can’t be trusted to go free.”

 

“I would be perfectly happy to offer them a quick death,” Rufus said, “but that might not be enough incentive for some.  Perhaps being allowed to live, even as a prisoner, might loosen some tongues.  I leave it up to you to decide what the most tempting offer is for each individual, Tseng.”

 

For all his polite demeanor and gentle treatment of his lovers, Tseng was a master of anatomy and torture.  He was capable of switching his emotions off completely when the situation called for it and there had been many prisoners in the past that begged for death after one session with him.

 

“I understand,” The Turk leader answered respectfully.  “I’ll begin as soon as we’ve returned and gotten settled in.”

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

Nanaki politely declined the invitation to go back to Junon with them.

 

“I will stay here and bury the dead with my people,” the lion stated to Cloud.  “Even enemies deserve proper respect in death, after all.”

 

Cloud couldn’t disagree.  He thanked his feline friend for the help and joined in the effort to clear the bodies from the plains and wilderness.  Tifa and Elena worked together to see to minor injuries and help with the cleanup.

 

After getting cleaned up and changed, the allied teams traveled back to the harbor and loaded the ground transport, the surviving helicopters, the prisoners and themselves onto the waiting ships.  Reno couldn’t contain his smirk at the sight of Zack wearing a crew shirt that was tight enough to ride up on his stomach a little.  The black-haired fighter grumbled about skinny ShinRa people and tugged in vain on the bottom of the shirt, trying to make it stay in place over his belt line.

 

“It’s not like I’m a giant,” Zack muttered.  “I’m a pretty average sized guy, right?”

 

Reno eyed the shirt and appreciated the way it molded to the toned muscles of the other man’s chest and torso.  He shrugged.  “Well, you’re not hulking but you’re still taller and bigger than average.  If you think it’s bad on you, imagine Rude here trying to squeeze into that.”

 

Rude mumbled something about filling out reports and made himself scarce, before Reno could start giving graphic, public descriptions of his body just to embarrass him. 

 

“Chicken,” Reno called after him with a grin.  Rude gave him the finger over his shoulder, making the redhead laugh.

 

“It’s not _that_ bad,” Cloud insisted with a yawn, his tired blue eyes regarding Zack with veiled appreciation as well.  “You only have to put up with it until we reach Junon.”

 

“I guess,” Zack sighed.  “ShinRa and the WRO need to start hiring more guys with meat on their bones.  If this is ‘standard issue’ clothing people are either shrinking or the company’s got a fixation with little guys.”

 

“It fits me just fine,” Cloud protested.  “But I guess I’m little, compared to you.”

 

Zack smirked at him.  “No, you’re perfect,” he corrected with a wink.  “You’re not a big guy but you’ve got some great muscle tone.  I wouldn’t change that sweet body of yours for anything, Cloudy.”

 

“Gotta agree with that,” Reno chimed in, leering at the blonde as well.

 

Cloud tried very hard not to let their comments embarrass him, but he felt the inevitable heat steadily creep into his face.  Both of his lovers were undressing him with their eyes.  Reno was only a little taller than him but his limbs were longer, his build slim and agile.  Zack was taller than both of them and athletically built, though not as heavily muscled as his mentor Angeal or Rude.  Cloud’s blush deepened further as he thought of how the three of them would compliment each other in bed.

 

  “What do you think’s going through that blond head of his?” Reno murmured to Zack, his sly gaze still roaming Cloud’s body.

 

“Must be something dirty, the way he’s blushing,” Zack chuckled.

 

“I’m hungry.”  Cloud made the announcement abruptly and fled the scene, leaving both of his lovers grinning with amusement.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

After getting something to eat from the ration supplies, Cloud and Zack retired to the sleeping cabin.  Reno used the restroom and also made his way to the sleeping quarters, but his purpose wasn’t to rest.  He was a little concerned for Cloud, after seeing the remorse in his eyes over the lives he’d taken.  He wanted to make sure he was okay and if he had to, he would request a sedative from the medics to help Cloud sleep.

 

People could call him a killer, a street rat, a man-whore and any other combination of things that had a ring of truth, but nobody could accuse him of being un-attentive to his lovers when they weren’t at their best.  Reno moved down the narrow hallway leading from the main seating area of the cabin to the sleeping quarters. 

 

He pushed the door open and peered into the darkened cabin, searching through the dimness for a familiar head of spiky golden hair.  Snores varying from soft and rhythmic to loud and intermittent filled the cabin and Reno wondered how in the hell anyone could sleep through so much noise.  Then again, most of the sleepers had been in direct combat and were probably too exhausted to notice.

 

Reno crept into the area, looking left and right at the sleeping bunks he passed.  He passed Tifa and Elena, who were sleeping adjacent from one another.  He noticed that both women were wearing earplugs and he gave them props for cleverness. 

 

Midway through the room he spotted Cloud and Zack, spooned intimately together on a single bunk.  Reno’s vision had adjusted enough to the dimness to see that both of them sported dark circles of fatigue under their eyes and he felt sympathy for them.  Even in his sleep, Zack had one arm around Cloud protectively.  Evidently the sable-haired fighter wasn’t concerned about what anyone thought of him and Cloud cuddling together in public.  Zack was obviously comfortable with his sexuality and that was a huge turn-on for Reno. 

 

Reno waited for the jealousy to come but to his surprise and relief, it didn’t.  Something else had replaced the unsavory emotion…something he’d felt before but had refused to admit.  Watching Cloud and Zack together was like watching Tseng and Rufus together, now.  Reno felt a combination of possessive pride and fondness for both of the sleeping men and the only word that went through his head was: _“Mine”_. 

 

He smirked, holding back a soft laugh at his own greed as he reached out and stroked Cloud’s wild bangs out of his eyes.  The blonde’s lips were parted and relaxed in his sleep and Reno took a moment to admire the shape of them before bending down to kiss them softly.  When he drew back, his gaze fixated on Zack and he felt an unusual burst of indecisiveness. 

 

_“When this is finished, I’d like to prove ‘hot’ can be a color.”_

A shiver of lust went up Reno’s spine as he recalled Zackary’s murmured words and he tilted his head and stared at the sleeping fighter.  His hand began to reach for Zack of its own accord and Reno paused, remembering the last time he’d touched the man while he was sleeping.

 

_~His wings ain’t out to nab me this time and the guy’s so exhausted he probably won’t wake up.  What’s one little touch gonna hurt?~_

Never one to shy away from risks when there was a reward to be had, Reno allowed his hand to reach out and stroke Zack’s dark hair.  It was thicker than Cloud’s and somewhat tangled, but it was soft at the tips.  Reno sifted his fingers through it and stared at the black-haired fighter’s relaxed mouth.  Maybe one little kiss would be okay, too. 

 

He ignored the warning in his mind as he leaned over Cloud and brought his lips to Zack’s.  He brushed them back and forth against the other man’s before kissing them softly.  He even allowed himself the brief pleasure of tracing those sinfully tempting, masculine lips with the tip of his tongue before he began to pull away.

 

Reno froze after pulling back a few inches.  Zack’s blue-violet eyes were open and looking at him.  His face was blank of expression and the Turk felt a surge of adrenaline as he wondered what Fair would do in response to his taking liberties this way.  He considered reaching for his EMR just to be safe, but Zack lifted the arm he had around Cloud and he cupped the back of Reno’s head with his hand to draw him closer.

 

“Uh, look,” Reno began softly, unable to read those intense eyes to guess what Zack intended to do.  “I was only—”

 

Zack’s warm, firm mouth covered his, the lips confident and insistent against Reno’s.  Shocked to his toes, the Turk responded to the kiss automatically, his instincts kicking in even though his brain was frozen with confusion.  Zack’s tongue eased into his mouth with gentle persuasion, questing inside and stroking against Reno’s. 

 

The Turk could honestly say he’d never been kissed quite this way before.  It was almost like Tseng’s kisses, but there was a more obvious undertone of dominance to it.  His groin pulled taut and he pushed his fingers into Zack’s hair, caressing the other man’s exploring tongue with his own.  He moaned softly into the fighter’s mouth, wanting him even more.

 

~Fuck, the guy doesn’t give any warning and he doesn’t hesitate.  Any one of these people in here could wake up and see this!  Is Zack even awake or is he doing something like sleepwalking right now?~

After an incalculable number of minutes, Zack ended the kiss and released him.  Reno was breathing heavily and he stared into the former Soldier’s eyes.  His lips felt swollen and his heart was pounding so hard he was sure it would wake the slumbering occupants of the cabin up.  Zack stared back at him and a slow, sensual smile curved his lips.

 

“Goodnight, Foxy.”  Zack’s whisper was laced with intimate promise and he laid his head back down, put his arm around Cloud again and closed his eyes.

 

Reno stayed frozen for a moment as his mind replayed the moment and tried to untangle his thoughts.  Fair was like a fucking _vampire_ or something…asleep one minute, awake the next and right back to sleep again once he’d attacked the person that dared touch him.  Only unlike the cliché vampire horror flicks, there was nothing creepy about it.  Startling yes…unsettling, even…but ultimately sexy and intriguing. 

 

Reno came out of his paralysis and rediscovered his ability to move.  He took advantage of it, retreating quickly out of the sleeping quarters with nimble haste and shutting the door behind him.  He leaned against the door and closed his eyes, muttering soft curses.  There was no telling if Zack would even remember kissing him like that when he woke up again.  For all Reno knew, he hadn’t even been aware he was doing it.

 

_~Or maybe he IS aware of it and it’s part of his little seduction game.~_

The more he thought of it, the more it made sense to him.  Zack was the only person Reno had ever met that could possibly rival him at the game of seduction.  Rufus was the only other man that came close and his methods were much more direct.  The redhead looked down at his tented crotch and pressed his lips together with irritation.

 

“You wanna prove that ‘hot’ can be a color, Wolfy?”  He whispered, his eyes narrowing to glittering slits.  “That’s fine baby, ‘cause I’m going to prove how loud I can make you moan my name, yo.”

 

When it was finished.  When they’d have plenty of time to explore all the different ways Reno could make Zackary Fair buck beneath him and beg for more.  He’d have his way with him and when he was finished with him, Zack was going to be a panting, sweaty wreck.

 

The bluster salved his pride a little but it didn’t help calm the raging lust he felt.  Zack had done it _again_ and Reno was stuck with a raging hard-on and a nasty case of sexual frustration once more.  He almost considered grabbing Rude or Tseng and dragging them into one of the tiny bathrooms with him for enough temporary privacy for a quick fuck.  Unfortunately, he knew his superior and partner would say it was inappropriate, no matter how appealing the idea might be to them. 

 

With a heavy sigh, Reno went into the first bathroom he found and took care of his problem alone. 

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

The first thing that Tseng did upon returning to Junon was to take the picture viewer with all of the digital photos on it to Cissnei’s infirmary room, so that she could identify her attackers if any of them were amongst the captured or deceased.

 

“I know it’s difficult Cissnei, but please try to focus,” Tseng encouraged softly as the recovering young woman looked through the photos with shaking hands.  He resisted touching her except to gently and briefly stroke her hair now and then.  Anything more than that made her flinch away from him. 

 

She’d had surgery the morning before to correct internal damage before the medical staff used healing materia on her.  Her broken arm was healed, the cut on her leg was closed and the bruises and swelling were gone from her face.  For all the miraculous work of the materia, there was no way to cure the pain and trauma in her soft, doe-like eyes.

 

Cissnei shuffled through the pictures slowly, looking at each one carefully before scrolling to the next.  As a Turk, the sight of death didn’t disturb her but the fear of seeing one of _those_ faces looking back up at her made her tremble.  She was almost relieved when she reached the bottom of the picture files without seeing any of her assailants.

 

“None of them are here,” she murmured.

 

“Keep going, little one,” Tseng prompted.  “There are still some left.”

 

Cissnei froze as soon as he finished saying that, for in the next photo she recognized one of her three rapists.  Her whole body trembled and she bit her lip, nodding wordlessly as she pointed at it.  She couldn’t get the words out past her tightened throat.

 

Tseng leaned over and looked at the picture she had identified.  It was one of the casualties.  In fact, it was the man that Strife had beheaded in the beginning of the fight against those who were trying to escape.  The photo that Cissnei identified was of the man’s severed head.

 

“You’re certain he was one of them?” Tseng questioned.

 

She nodded.  “He…he choked me,” she whispered tightly.

 

Tseng rubbed her shoulder gently.  “He’s gone now.  He can’t hurt you.”

 

“Who got him?” Cissnei asked, looking up at him with bright, tearful eyes.

 

“Cloud,” answered the Wutaian readily.  “He met him in battle when he and his team confronted the Deepground operatives that were trying to escape.”

 

“I…this is going to sound strange, but I want to give him a ‘thank you’ card.”

 

Tseng smiled at the young woman, pleased to see a little of the old Cissnei shining through the darkness.  “Of course.  I’ll pick one up for you to sign in the morning.”

 

She nodded and made herself go through the rest of the photos.  When she reached the final picture her breath caught.  It was one of the live prisoners they had in custody and Tseng felt a little thrill of adrenaline.

 

“Is he one of them too?” the Turk leader prompted softly.

 

Cissnei nodded.  “He’s here?”  She began to tremble again.

 

“Yes,” answered Tseng, “but he won’t get anywhere near you and I promise you, when I’m finished with him he’ll never assault anyone, ever again.”  He took the picture viewer from her and stroked her hair in long, soothing motions.  “Rest easy, Cissnei.  You _will_ be avenged.”

 

She clutched at the teddy bear that Elena had brought her, hugging it to her chest as tears silently spilled down her cheeks.  Tseng swallowed and left the room.  Zack, Cloud, Reno, Rude and Elena were waiting in the hallway with the doctor and Tseng regarded each of them in turn.

 

“I want you to give her something to help her sleep,” he said to the doctor.  “She’s identified two of her attackers and it’s shaken her up a bit.”

 

The doctor nodded and went to get the medication.

 

“Which ones were they?” Cloud asked.

 

“You’ve already killed one of them,” Tseng replied, a ghost of a smile curving his lips.

 

“I did?” the blonde’s eyebrows went up.

 

“Yes.  The man you beheaded in the beginning of the fight was the one responsible for choking her…amongst other things.”

 

Reno smiled grimly and clapped the blonde fighter on the back.  “Thatta boy.”

 

Cloud’s gem-bright eyes were thoughtful as he lowered them.  “I wish I’d have known he was one of them.  I killed him too fast.”

 

“Not to worry,” Tseng comforted, “we have one of them in the holding cells downstairs and the other one is still at large.  I assume he got out with the others that evacuated before we arrived.  We’ll find him eventually and like his friend in the holding cell, he’ll enjoy a more…thorough…punishment for his crime.”

 

“So one of the fuckers is here?” Reno growled.  “I want some time with him, man.”

 

“No,” Tseng said firmly.  “I don’t want him dead yet, Reno.  Unless you can prove to me that you can satisfy your lust for revenge without ending his life, I can’t allow you to do it.”

 

Reno sputtered, his face reddening with anger.  Rude patted his shoulder consolingly and the redhead sighed heavily and hung his head.  “I can’t,” he said.  “I can’t promise I won’t cut the bastard into a billion tiny pieces when I lay my hands on him.  Goddammit.”

 

Tseng looked sharply at Zack, whose body was tense as well.  “And you, Zackary?  Can I trust you not to end this creature’s life before full justice is served?”

 

The black-haired man looked at him, his jaw tense and his eyes glittering with unshed tears.  The sheer force of his emotions radiated from his body but he kept himself under control and gave the Wutaian a curt nod.

 

Tseng studied him, wondering if he could trust him to keep his word.  He looked at Cloud, Rude and Elena questioningly, silently asking them if they wished to get some licks in on the rapist.

 

“I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to fighting him,” Cloud muttered uncomfortably, “but it wouldn’t feel right just beating him up when he can’t fight back.  It’s not because I don’t think he deserves it or because I wouldn’t love to hurt him, but…I just…” He shrugged, at a loss for how to explain it.

 

“S’okay, Cloud,” Reno said.  “We know if ya wouldn’t hesitate to put the hurt on the guy in a fight.”

 

Tseng nodded, expecting no less of Cloud.  He noticed that Zack looked uncomfortable too all the sudden and he understood.  The black-haired man’s sense of honor was compromised by his devotion to Cissnei.  Cloud wasn’t close to her the way Zack was, so he was able to hold to his morals without feeling like he was betraying the young woman.  The Wutaian felt pity for Zack as he watched the expressions flit across the handsome fighter’s face.  There was most certainly an inner war going on inside of him.

 

“Rude?  Elena?” He raised his eyebrows at the other two Turks, waiting for their answer.

 

“I just want to kick him in the balls a few times,” Elena said.  “I know what _you’re_ going to do to him is going to be a lot worse than whatever I can dream up, Sir.”

 

Rude cracked his knuckles and nodded silently, leaving no doubt that he would be satisfied with a few well-aimed punches.

 

“It’s settled then,” Tseng finalized.  “Reno, I’m sorry.  I know you would love nothing more than a few moments alone with this creature, but you understand my concerns, don’t you?”

 

The redhead nodded.  “As long as I can watch him get it from you and the others, I’ll be fine.  Just let me know when you’re ready to finish him off, boss.  Then it won’t matter if I kill the slimy fuck.”

 

“Well said,” Tseng nodded.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Tseng had the rapist separated from the other prisoners and locked in a sound proof room with padded walls and a mirrored observation window of tempered, bulletproof glass.  Zack went in first and Tseng watched closely, having his misgivings about it but trusting Zack’s SOLDIER training and sense of honor to keep him in line.  Cloud stood beside the Wutaian and Tseng noticed the way the blonde was chewing his lower lip and watching his lover enter the padded room with concerned blue eyes. 

 

_~So, I’m clearly not the only one with doubts about this.  Perhaps I should put a stop to it now.~_

 

He hesitated though.  He knew very well how much Zackary Fair cared for Cissnei and he thought that if it weren’t for Cloud, the former Soldier might eventually try to court her.  At the very least, Cissnei deserved to have a champion for her honor.  Through the speakers attached to the wall above, Tseng and the others could hear what was happening within the room as Zack strode in.

 

“How’s it going?” Zack said to the prisoner.  His voice was so light and friendly that one would think he was pals with the rapist.

 

Cloud was the only one that understood what the falsely cheerful voice meant and he tensed, fighting the urge to run in there and drag his lover out the door before it escalated.  Zack was capable of being friendly with just about anyone but when he did it to people he hated, it was usually a prelude to destruction.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

The prisoner looked up at Zack, studying him with neon-rimmed, cobalt eyes.  His hair was a dull gray in color and it fell straight and smooth to his mid-back.  His features were chiseled and roughly handsome, but for the cruel twist of his mouth. 

 

He eyed the black-haired visitor’s ill-fitting shirt and took note of his toned, strong build.  Though the too-small shirt looked a bit ridiculous on him, the lupine grace of his athletic body marked him as a formidable opponent.  There was something about the man that he couldn’t quite place, though…something familiar.

 

The prisoner strained covertly against his manacles, testing the bonds.

 

“Idrisaith, right?” Zack questioned.  “Funny name.  So, how are they treating you, Id-boy?”  His smile was friendly enough but the prisoner could see the wolfish aggression beneath it.

 

“Had some fun with a Turk girl, didn’t you?” Zack went on, keeping his tone light. 

 

Idrisaith detected the barely perceptible emotion underneath the mild inquiry and he began to understand why he’d been separated from the others and what this alpha male was doing here now.

 

“What are you, her knight?” he growled.

 

Zack appeared to consider the question for a moment, his head tilting slightly.  “Yeah, I guess I am,” he agreed with a nod.  “I’m her knight in shining…uh…t-shirt.”  He seemed to realize how snug said shirt was and he tugged at the hem of it, trying to pull it down over the strip of abdomen it revealed.

 

The Deepground operative shrugged.  “So I tore up one of your bitches.  What’s the matter, ShinRa dog…you upset because she can’t have your pups now?”

 

The sable-haired man stiffened and his eyes lit up from within.  The material of his shirt tightened even more and there was a tearing sound.  Idrisaith’s smug look faded as a pair of luminous white wings sprouted from the other man’s back, rending his shirt in half so that only the sleeves held the tattered remains on his body. 

 

He knew where he’d seen the man before, but he didn’t get the chance to think about the revelation because one of those big, monstrous wings swung toward him and slapped him clear across the room, chair and all.  The wing was surprisingly heavy and tough, the hard bones contrasting oddly with the soft feathers.  The black-haired man was upon him before he could even try to break free of his bonds and defend himself.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Zack didn’t spare a thought to the surprising way he’d instinctively attacked the Deeground mutt with his wing.  The prisoner was still cuffed to his chair and stuck on his side against back left corner of the padded room.  Zack’s world was suffused in a blood-red haze as he charged the rapist and kicked him violently in the ribs before squatting before him and wrapping his hands around his throat.

 

  Zack squeezed hard, taking savage delight in the resulting sound of the other man’s choking gurgles.  “How does it feel, huh?” Zack snarled, his livid amethyst eyes boring into the rapist’s.  “Your pal did this to my ‘bitch’.  How do _you_ like it?  Did you laugh while he did it?  Did you _use_ her just to make her choke harder?”

 

The prisoner couldn’t answer, of course.  He was too busy fighting for breath and trying to break free from the steel manacles that kept him bound to the toppled chair.  If he could have spoken, Zack might have been surprised by what he’d have to say.  As it stood, he was slowly being strangled to death and he couldn’t utter a single word to the livid man hovering over him.

 

   “You wanna make animal comparisons?” the ex-Soldier growled, baring his teeth.  “Fine.  Let’s do that, then.  What do you think wolves do when they take down their prey?” 

 

Without waiting for a response, Zack released the prisoner’s throat with his hands and went with sheer, primal instinct.  He sank his teeth into his neck, tearing away skin and making blood spill.  He didn’t hit an artery but the groan of pain was enough to satisfy him.  He didn’t have fangs but his teeth were strong and his bite was powerful.

 

Suddenly there were hands on him…several of them.  He vaguely heard Cloud hollering and Rude’s strained grunts as the hands pulled at his wings, arms and shoulders.  Part of his mind screamed at him to stop but he was so enraged…so _insulted_ that this twisted bastard had compared poor Cissnei to a bitch in heat…all Zack wanted to do was tear his throat out like the animal so many had likened him too.   

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

Tseng cursed himself for a fool even as he struggled with Cloud and Rude to pry Zack off of the prisoner.  Reno wasn’t any help at all—the moment the redhead saw Zack slam the prisoner across the room, he was cheering for the former Soldier.  Elena was frozen to the spot, staring at the spectacle with wide eyes.

 

While Cloud and Rude worked to subdue the infuriated, winged fighter, Tseng tried to use his soothing techniques on him.  He spoke the language of his homeland, keeping his voice droning and calm.  Usually it worked well against surging male hormones, but he found himself knocked across the room by one of Zack’s wings, this time.  He was shaken but unharmed and he pulled himself to his feet and watched as Cloud and Rude did their best to pull Zack off of the prisoner and calm him down.

 

In the end, it was Cloud’s voice that reached the former Soldier.

 

“Come on, Zack…you’re out of control!  It’s okay…just let it go, man.  Don’t let him get to you like this.”

 

Zack slowly released the prisoner and backed off, panting heavily.  His mouth was stained with bright blood and his eyes were feral on the rapist as Rude and Cloud carefully ushered him away.  He looked into Cloud’s worried blue eyes and the wild expression faded from his face, to be replaced by emotional exhaustion.

 

“Cloud,” the black-haired fighter whispered simply, having words to describe the way he felt.  The aching tone of his whisper said it all.

 

“I know,” Cloud murmured.  He stroked the mussed, dark hair out of his lover’s eyes and continued to coax him toward the door.  “It’s okay, Zack.”

 

The blonde gave a nod to Rude, who nodded back and hurried over to Tseng.  “Are you okay, Sir?” Rude questioned.

 

“Other than feeling a bit foolish, yes.”  Tseng accepted the big man’s support and reached into one pocket of his blazer, withdrawing a green materia orb.  He held it in the palm of his hand and activated it, focusing on the bleeding prisoner.

 

“Sir, what did you cast?” asked Rude as he helped the disoriented Wutaian out of the room behind Cloud and Zack.

 

“Regen,” Tseng murmured.  “As I said, the creature has a long, painful road to travel before I’m finished.”  He motioned for Rude to help him set the prisoner back upright, ignoring the shocked groans of pain from the man.

 

~****************************~

* * *

 

“I think we’ve done enough for today,” Tseng informed the others as Cloud guided Zack to a chair in the observation room.  “Zackary, are you coherent now?”

 

The black-haired fighter lifted his head and looked up at him with shock-dilated pupils.  “Yeah…kind of embarrassed, too.”

 

Tseng’s lips quirked a little and he felt a vague sense of relief at the return of a more familiar behavioral pattern from Zack.  “You lost your head.  It’s not that surprising and I should have prepared better for it.”

 

Zack responded by bending over and puking on the floor.  Cloud hastily brushed the dark-haired fighter’s hair out of his face while Reno grabbed the waste bin and positioned it under him. 

 

“Did I really chew a piece out of that guy’s _neck_?” Zack inquired in a ragged voice once the heaving spell passed.

 

“He was asking for it, yo,” Reno answered glibly as he produced a handkerchief from one of the pockets of his blazer.  He grabbed his bottle of water off the table and wetted the handkerchief before wiping the blood off of Zack’s face.

 

“Gotta get that taste out of my mouth,” Zack mumbled shakenly.

 

“Here,” Elena offered, thrusting her half-finished can of soda at him.  “Sip this.”

 

Zack took the drink but his hand was shaking so bad he couldn’t hold it steady.  Cloud gently took it from him and brought it to his lips, tilting it carefully while he swallowed.  Reno grimaced at the strangely bright blood staining his handkerchief and he threw the item away in the bin.

 

“Maybe Fair should get checked out by a doctor,” the redhead suggested, glancing at Zack sidelong.  “We don’t know what kind of shit’s in those Deepground fuckers’ blood and I’d hate to see him come down with something nasty for having a munch, ya know?”

 

“That’s a valid point,” agreed Tseng.  “Although it might be better to have a sample drawn from the creature, rather than subject Zack to more testing right now.” 

 

Reno smirked at the Wutaian’s continued reference to the rapist as a “creature”.  He couldn’t wait to see what Tseng was going to do to him.  “Good point, boss.  I’ll phone in the order if ya want.”

 

Reno motioned to Cloud and gave a meaningful look at Zack, silently telling the blonde to get him out of there and into bed.  The blonde caught the message and nodded.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“Don’t kiss me.”

 

Cloud stopped and stared at Zack.  They had both gotten cleaned up and ready for bed as soon as they returned to the suite floor and Zack had come over at his request after showering and changing.

 

“You acted on instinct and anger,” he murmured; running his fingers through the other man’s dark, damp hair.  Maybe he was imagining it but it seemed like Zack’s hair was growing faster than average.  Tifa had trimmed it up while he was still unconscious and it was already shaggy again and reaching his shoulders.

 

“Until they know what was in that guy’s blood, I don’t want you kissing me,” Zack said stubbornly, his blue-violet eyes latching onto Cloud’s.  “I’m serious, Cloud.  Yeah, I’m embarrassed for acting like a rabid dog but I’m more worried about contaminating you with something.”

 

Cloud sighed and settled for throwing a leg over Zack’s thighs and resting his head on his chest.  “Okay.  I get it.”

 

“You mad?” a hint of amusement found its way into Zack’s tone and the blonde smile a little in response before shaking his head.

 

“No.  You’re just looking out for me.”

 

Zack’s arms went around him and he squeezed gently.  “We’ll have our nookie time when all of this chaos clears up, Chocobo.  I promise.”  His lips nuzzled Cloud’s forehead.

 

“You love her, don’t you?” Cloud murmured, tilting his head back to look Zack in the eye.

 

The other man gazed back at him unwaveringly.  He knew whom he meant and he nodded.  “Yeah.  Not the same way I love _you_ , but yeah.  If things were different maybe something would come of that, but I’m with you.”

 

“I wouldn’t mind, you know,” Cloud murmured.  “I wouldn’t have the right to.”

 

Zack sighed.  “Even if I tried to go down that road with Cissnei, she might never be able to have a relationship like that again, know what I’m saying?  I’m happy with where I am now and I’m sure friendship is enough for her, too.”

 

Cloud nodded and let his eyes drift shut.  “Okay.  I just wanted you to know.  I trust you, Zack.”

 

The black-haired fighter smiled painfully at his sleepy companion, feeling his throat tighten as he squeezed him again.  “I know you do, Sunshine.  I love you.”

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 


	17. Chapter 17

“Alliance”

Chapter 17

~**********************************~

* * *

 

The next morning, Tseng began his interrogation of the prisoners.  Of the thirteen of them, four were women and Tseng started on them first—not because he enjoyed hurting women but because he knew that the males might feel instinctively protective of them and it might give them incentive to talk if it meant sparing the females from harm.

 

Zack, of course, was against it when he discovered his plan. 

 

“You’re kidding, right?  You’re really planning on torturing women?”  An expression of protest was stamped on his honest, noble face as he delayed Tseng from going into the holding cell.  Fortunately, Cloud was at the gym working out so Tseng didn’t have his arguments to overcome as well.

 

“They are the enemy,” Tseng reminded the fighter with a cold look.  “Regardless of what reproductive organs they were born with, they are ruthless killers that would see all of humanity warped or killed.  This is a tactical move, Zackary…not a vindictive one.”

 

“Yeah, but still…” the former Soldier looked into the holding cells at the captives, his face troubled and indecisive.  One of the women Tseng would be torturing was the one he’d brought down himself.  Even with the vile thing she’d said about Cissnei, he would have given her a quick, clean death if it had come to it.  

 

Tseng understood.  Zackary Fair’s honor and chivalry had always been a source of admiration to him and it was part of what convinced him to try and save him years ago.  The Wutaian laid a hand on the fighter’s shoulder and softened his expression.  “You shouldn’t be here.  Why don’t you join Cloud and try not to think of it?  I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve gotten some information.”

 

Zack struggled inwardly, his eyes going from the prisoners to Tseng and back again.  “Just…don’t do it for too long, okay?  I know this is a dumb thing to ask but take it easy on ‘em if you can, will you?”

 

The Turk sighed.  “Very well,” he fibbed.  “I’ll go easier on the females, if it will ease your conscience.  Now go and spend some time with Cloud.  Leave the unpleasant matters to me.”

 

Zack studied him with wary suspicion.  “You’re not planning on doing to those girls what their men did to Cissnei, are you?” 

 

Tseng blinked, honestly surprised by the question.  “What makes you believe I would lower myself to such a thing, Fair?  While it would certainly cause pain and humiliation, the act of rape is abhorrent!”

 

Zack winced.  “Sorry.  I should have known better.  See you later, Tseng.”  He retreated quickly.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

By noon, Tseng still hadn’t managed to persuade any of the prisoners to speak and Zack stopped by the holding cells with Elena to check on the progress.

 

“These people are so accustomed to pain that I’m not so sure common torture methods will loosen their tongues,” the Wutaian explained.

 

Zack stroked his chin and regarded the prisoners thoughtfully.  “So pain’s a no-go, eh?  Looks like we’ll have to get inventive.”  He looked at Elena and a slow smile spread over his lips.  “Hey Elena, you’ve got a couple of cats, right?”

 

“Yeah,” she answered with a puzzled look at him, “but unless some of these guys are allergic, I don’t see how my cats can help.”

 

“I don’t want your cats,” Zack alluded with a sly look, “Just something they use.”  He bent his head to whisper in her ear while Tseng watched with interest.

 

Elena looked up at the tall, black-haired fighter and frowned.  “Why do you want me to bring _that_?”

 

“You’ll see,” Zack favored her with a wink.  “Trust me.  If pain isn’t working, maybe we can hit their pride.”

 

She honestly couldn’t see how his request would do that, but she nodded and fished her car keys out of her blazer.  “Okay, I’ll go get it now.”

 

Tseng watched her go and he looked at Zack with a frown once she was out of earshot.  “What are you planning to do, Zackary?”

 

“I’m going to be creative,” Zack answered with a mischievous smile.  “Just wait.  It’s a surprise.”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

A little more than a half hour later, Elena returned to headquarters with what Zack had requested.  She met him in the holding cell area and gingerly handed him a knotted trashbag while Tseng watched with frowning bemusement.

 

“Here you go.  I still don’t know why you wanted this but it’s all yours,” the blonde Turk said.

 

“Thanks, sweet stuff.  Hey Tseng, can I get one of those surgical face masks, a pair of latex gloves and a spoon?”

 

The Turk leader was too curious to see what Zack intended to do to argue with him.  He went to retrieve the items, passing Reeve in the hall on the way.  The engineer asked him how things were going and Tseng briefly explained before raiding a medical supply cabinet and asking one of the nurses for a spoon.  Reeve was now interested to see what Fair was up to and he went with Tseng back to the holding area to watch.  Vincent saw him going and he went along as well.

 

“Thanks, man,” Zack said as he took the items from the Wutaian.  He secured the mask over his mouth and nose, put the gloves on and held the spoon with one hand while picking up Elena’s trash bag with the other.  As the others watched, he walked to the holding cells and the guard unlocked it for him and let him in.

 

“Hey guys,” Zack said cheerfully to the assembled prisoners.  His wings manifested, his adrenaline spike triggering them.  They pushed through the openings in the back of the custom-tailored shirt he wore and the Deepground prisoners stared at him. 

 

“You’re the delivered one,” gasped one of the males.

 

Zack cocked a brow.  “Okay.  If you say so, pal.”  The guy was looking at him in an almost worshiping way and so were his fellow prisoners…except the woman that Zack had personally captured.  _She_ looked like she wanted to pluck his feathers out and roast him for dinner.

 

“The perfected specimen,” another woman said in an awed tone.  “You’re awake!”

 

Zack started to get what they were talking about and he shrugged.  “Yeah, I’m _that_ guy.  So since you’re all looking at me like some kind of messiah, maybe you can just tell me now what Deepground’s got cooking.  It’s okay.  I’m the…uh… _’perfected one’_ , so you can tell me.”

 

“You’ve sided with our enemies,” said the man who had first identified Zack.  “We’ll tell you nothing.”

 

Zack heaved a sigh and began to un-knot the trash bag.  “Kinda figured that would be your answer.  Oh well, I gave you the chance to do this nice and peaceful-like.  I guess there’s nothing left to do now but feed you the special lunch I had delivered for you.”  He scooped some of the contents out of the bag with the spoon and approached the first prisoner.  “Hold still, now.  I’m not going to like this any more than you will.”

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud and Tifa came down looking for Zack when he didn’t return to the gym.  “Have you seen Zack?” the blonde asked Tseng and Elena, who were staring through the window into the holding cell area with stunned expressions. 

 

“What’s going on, here?” 

 

Reeve and Vincent were there too and so were Doctor Green and one of the nurses.  All of them were staring with rapt attention through the window.

 

“Zack’s a bit busy at the moment,” Tseng replied in a distracted voice, pointing at the window.

 

Tifa looked through and saw what the former Soldier was doing.  “Is…is that… _cat litter_?”

 

“Yup,” Elena answered.  “He asked me to bring it to him.  I didn’t understand why at first but now I kind of wish I was still ignorant.”

 

“I have to hand it to him,” Reeve murmured, “He’s inventive.”

 

“I certainly wouldn’t have thought of something like this,” Vincent agreed softly.

 

Cloud looked and his stomach twisted in protest.  “You’ve gotta be _kidding_ me!”

 

Oh, but it was no joke.  Like the others, the blonde couldn’t look away no matter how much he wanted to.  He found his eyes glued to the spectacle and he swallowed nausea.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

A couple of hours later, Tseng went to Rufus’s office to give his report.  Reno was already in there with the president and by the way his features were flushed, Tseng guessed that he’d interrupted something racy. 

 

“My apologies,” the Wutaian said as he approached the president’s desk and took a seat next to Reno.  “I thought you might like to know that we’ve made some progress with the Deepground prisoners.”

 

Rufus relaxed in his chair, not quite smiling but looking pleased.  “Wonderful.  What information have you divulged?”

 

“Actually, I’m not responsible for breaking them,” Tseng admitted ruefully.

 

“Seriously?” asked Reno.  “Usually guys crack under your ‘attentions’ faster than a walnut in a vice, man.”

 

“Zack broke one of them,” Tseng replied.

 

Rufus frowned.  “How?  I can’t imagine Zackary Fair being more skilled at torture methods than you, Tseng.”

 

“Pain alone wasn’t enough to motivate them,” explained the Turk leader impassively.  “I used all of my skills but some of them even seemed to _enjoy_ the sensation of pain.  Zack came up with the idea that perhaps we were striking at the wrong area.  He suggested that their pride might be more vulnerable than their pain threshold.”

 

“And?” Rufus looked intrigued and Reno was staring at Tseng with curiosity.

 

“He force-fed them cat litter,” Tseng finished succulently.  “ _Used_ cat litter.”

 

Reno’s mouth twisted.  “Ew, NASTY!”

 

Rufus’s gray eyes remained fixed on Tseng and his expression froze.  “Cat litter.” He repeated.

 

Tseng nodded.

 

“Did he also force them to wear bras on their heads whilst feeding them this gourmet lunch?”  Rufus’s lips were twitching and he was clearly putting forth great effort to contain his amusement.

 

“No Sir, but I imagine the thought occurred to him at some point,” Tseng replied with a faint smirk of his own.  “Eventually one of them couldn’t bear the humiliation and vomiting and he offered some information.”

 

“Which was?” prompted the president.  He cleared his throat and pressed his lips together to control them.

 

“He said that his people were using the research they had conducted to create biological weapons,” Tseng answered.  He frowned thoughtfully.  “Just as Cloud hypothesized, as I recall.”

 

“Yup, Blondie thought it was something like that from the start,” Reno confirmed with a proud grin.  “My baby might act like an airhead but he’s pretty sharp.”

 

“I see,” Rufus pondered.  “Was there anything else?”

 

“Our fears that we have a leak were confirmed,” answered Tseng.  “The prisoner suggested that the ‘answer is amongst us’.  Rather cryptic, but not difficult to translate.  He also said that the major convergence of the Deepground forces are on the northern continent, close to Icicle.”

 

Rufus sighed.  “We can’t very well make plans to move in on them until we know who our mole is.  I’m certain I don’t have to tell you that I want this investigated, at top priority.”

 

“Of course, Koibito,” Tseng murmured.  “We’re going to try to get the prisoners to reveal the identity of the informant.” 

 

“When we _do_ find our mole, we’ll organize a strike against the Deepground forces on the northern continent,” Rufus continued, “and _I’m_ going to be part of it.”

 

 “Sir,” Tseng began to protest, but Rufus held up his hand and gave him a level stare.

 

“I won’t hide in this office while my people are out fighting to end this threat,” Rufus said in a level, firm voice.  “I understand how you feel Tseng, but I’m not incompetent.  I _will_ play an active role in this fight.”

 

Tseng sighed and exchanged a look with Reno.  “Whatever you think is best, Sir.”

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

“That was nasty,” Cloud informed Zack as Doctor Green finished getting the blood sample from him and puttered away to analyze it.  “I mean really, _really_ gross.”  Beside him Tifa nodded with agreement, her lips twisted with disgust.

 

“Had to get ‘em talking somehow, Chocobo-head,” Zack replied with a shrug.  “No matter how much Tseng made them scream, those guys weren’t giving us diddly or squat.  All I could think of was humiliating them.”

 

“Well, it _did_ work,” Tifa agreed softly.  “I don’t think I’ll be able to use a spoon to eat again for a while but you pulled it off, Zack.”  She looked at him thoughtfully, her brown eyes flicking over his hair.  “You need another haircut.”

 

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Zack sighed as he combed his fingers through his wild bangs.  “It’s growing pretty fast.”

 

“Maybe we should let it grow long in the back,” suggested the barmaid.  “I’ll bet it would look good on you.”

 

“Think so?” Zack asked.  He looked at Cloud.  “What do you think, Sunshine?”

 

Cloud looked at him, letting his eyes drink in the sight of him.  “It’s _your_ hair,” he said with a shrug.  “I think you’d look good no matter what you do to it.”  He blushed predictably at the end of the sentence, making Zack and Tifa grin at him.

 

“You’ve really got it bad,” Tifa whispered in Cloud’s ear.  Aloud, she said; “I’m going to go see if the kids are home from school yet.  See you later, guys.”

 

Cloud would have said something in response but his cellphone rang as the barmaid started to go.  He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID, smiling a little when he saw whom it was.  He put the phone to his ear and greeted his friend.

 

“Hey Barret.”

 

“Spiky!  We just landed at the Junon airport, where the hell are you and Tifa?”

 

Cloud was pleasantly surprised.  “We’re in the med ward at headquarters right now.”  He motioned to Tifa, who had turned around to regard him curiously when he’d answered the phone.  “Who all’s with you?”

 

“It’s just me, Cid and Yuffie,” answered the coal miner.  “Where’s my little girl?”

 

“Marlene’s fine,” Cloud assured him, “Rufus got her and Denzel registered for school here and they should be coming back soon.  Tifa was on her way to check, as a matter of fact.”

 

“Good,” answered Barret.  “So, you comin’ to pick us up or what?”

 

Cloud looked at Zack apologetically.  “Yeah, Tifa and I will get a cab to come get you.  Just wait there for us.”

 

“It’s all right,” Zack assured him lightly when he hung up and put the phone away.  “Whatever the doc has to say to me can’t be earth-shaking news.  Go get your friends.”

 

Tifa tactfully withdrew to give them a moment of privacy and Cloud impulsively kissed Zack on the mouth.  “I’ll see you later,” he promised.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“So, what’s the word, Doc?” Zack relaxed on the examination table as the doctor returned with some paperwork.  “Did you find anything funky or what?”

 

Doctor green shook his head and looked over the paperwork.  “All tests conclude that you’re a healthy young man, with the exception of a few abnormalities.”

 

“Like what?” Zack said with interest, sitting up on the table.

 

“Well, for one thing there’s the wings…but you knew that already,” answered the doctor.  “For another, your cellular regeneration process is much higher than average.  That explains how quickly your hair is growing and the rate that you recovered from your previous, catatonic state.”

 

“Gotcha,” Zack didn’t pretend that the explanation wasn’t heartening.  “So I’ve just got to get more haircuts than the average Joe, right?”

 

“Yes,” responded the doctor.  “You have nothing to worry about, Mister Fair.  While the man you attacked had high concentration of Mako in his bloodstream, your body has neutralized it and you can safely interact with your companions without fear of infecting them with anything.  There were no diseases or viruses found in his blood.”

 

“Awesome,” Zack sighed happily.  He’d been really worried about that…not for his own sake but for Cloud’s.  The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt the blonde, even by accident.  “So I can go now, right?”

 

“You’re free to go,” the doctor said with a smile.  He pulled a lollypop out of his lab coat and handed it to the black-haired fighter.  It was their little secret and he chuckled at the way Zack’s eyes lit up.  He reminded Dr. Green a bit of his nine-year-old son, at times.  Never mind that the man could tear down entire contingents of troops all by himself.  When his mood was good, Zack had a quality of boyishness that made him endearing.

 

“Hey, thanks Doc,” Zack said enthusiastically as he tore the wrapper off and put the sucker in his mouth.  “You’re all right.”

 

 He shook hands with the doctor and hopped off the examination table, heading out of the room with a bounce to his step.

 

Doctor Green chuckled, amused at his antics.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Zack was leaving the medical wing when he came across a nurse that had a mild accident and dropped some of her blood samples.  She swore softly and started picking up the vials, which thankfully hadn’t broken when they’d hit the floor.  Zack stopped and hunkered down to help her.

 

“Here, let me give you a hand with that,’ he offered.  The blonde woman was averting her face and searching the floor.

 

“I lost one of my contact lenses,” the nurse said.

 

“We’ll find it,” Zack promised as he looked around on the tiled floor.  He spotted a blue lens and pinched it between his fingers, holding it out for her.  “Hey, look at this!  I think I found it already.”

 

The nurse looked at him impulsively and Zack froze.  The eye that wasn’t covered with a lens was bright, Mako orange.  The other was a fake blue color, concealed by the contact lens. 

 

“You’ve had Mako infusions,” the former solider said with certainty, staring at the woman. 

 

She looked at him and he noticed the calculating way her eyes shot to the nearby door.  If she had nothing to hide, she would have agreed and explained her situation.  As it stood, she was seeking escape.

 

“Where do you think _you’re_ going, honey?” Zack said as the nurse lunged for the door and he tackled her.

 

“Let go of me!” she cried, struggling against his hold with abnormal strength.

 

“No can do, babe,” grunted Zack as he pinned her to the floor, “I smell ‘Deepground’ all over you and you’re going to give me answers!”  He hissed in pain as her fingernails raked his arm and he barely twisted aside in time to avoid a knee in the groin.

 

“That’s not playing nice,” he muttered as he pinned her wrists over her head.  He looked into her off-colored eyes and smiled.  “Sweetheart, I can only put up with so much before I’ve gotta be an asshole.  Don’t make me hit you, okay?”

 

She studied him and her struggles weakened, perhaps convinced by the honest expression in his face that it wasn’t worth trying to fight.  “I want immunity,” she declared softly. 

 

She was _afraid_.  Zack could smell the scent of her fear and see it in her eyes.  He frowned down at her, feeling pity welling from within.  “What the hell did they _do_ to you, darlin’?”

 

“Promise me immunity and I’ll tell you what I know,” she whispered.

 

Zack frowned.  “That’s not my call to make, but what I _can_ promise you is that I’ll fight tooth and nail to see that you’re treated well.  Is that enough for you?  Will you trust me?”

 

She looked into his eyes and nodded slowly.  “I think I can,” she said softly.

 

He released his hold on her, stood up and offered her his hand.  “I’ll take care of you,” he promised, “As long as you help us, nobody’s going to hurt you.”

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud endured Yuffie’s tight hug and sharp little kisses, smiling softly at the girl.  “You act like it’s been years,” he murmured.

 

“I just,” she said between pecks, “missed you so much!  You’re so friggen CUTE, Cloud!  Pain in my ass but cuter than a baby chocobo!”

 

Cloud heaved a long-suffering sigh and glanced at Cid and Barret.  “You two aren’t going to do this to me, are you?”

 

Cid gave Tifa a tight hug and smirked at him.  “If I did, people might think I’m a fruit.  I’ll settle for giving Tifa a squeeze, kiddo.”

 

Barret’s chiseled features relaxed into a smile as he received a hug from Tifa as well.  “Thanks for watching my girl for me,” he rumbled to the barmaid, enjoying the friendly contact.

 

“Marlene’s an angel,” Tifa assured him with a smile.  “She never gives us trouble and we’re more than happy to help.  She and Denzel should be back from school by now, so do you want to go see her?”

 

“You know I do,” replied Barret.  “So, she doin’ okay with her classes?  She always had a little trouble with the spelling.”’

 

“She’s doing great,” answered Tifa.  “And with you here now, she’ll do even better.  Let’s get into the cab, guys.”

 

“Damn, give the poor kid time to breathe, “ Cid muttered to Yuffie as Cloud tried to disengage her from around his neck. 

 

“Oh, shut your trap, Highwind,” the slender ninja grumbled.  “I missed him!”

 

They piled into the cab and Tifa was subject to Yuffie’s affections next.  She chuckled and returned the petite ninja’s embrace and little kisses as the taxi drove away.  Yuffie was like a kitten, all playful affection and fun.  Of course, everyone checked their pockets as soon as they reached Headquarters.  As endearing as her affection was, the ninja was still a kleptomaniac.  Tifa had to retrieve her keys from the girl and Cloud got his pocketknife back from her, under protest.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

 Rufus stood up as Zack strode into his office.  He eyed the woman that the black-haired fighter escorted and he shot a questioning look at Zack.

 

“What’s this all about?” asked the president in a level tone.

 

“She’s our mole,” Zack explained.  He gently pushed the woman forward.  “I’ve promised her she’d be treated decently.  Don’t make a liar out of me, Mr. President.”

 

Rufus was impressed.  “How did you discover the leak?”

 

“Totally by accident,” Zack disclosed with a smirk.  “What matters now is she’s got the goods on Deepground.  She’s the one that’s been telling them when we’re moving in and she’s the one that knows what we’re up against.  She says she’s the only spy and I believe her.”

 

Rufus looked at the woman in question and hardened his expression.  “Well then, speak up now.  I’ll do as Zack requests and spare you punishment if you tell me everything.”

 

The nurse opened her mouth and spoke, despite her obvious fear.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

Rufus called for a meeting shortly after talking to the spy that Zack had accidentally discovered.  He was faintly surprised by the appearance of Barret, Yuffie and Cid but he kept it behind a mask of stoic indifference as he explained the situation to the assembled people.

 

“They intend to unleash biological weapons against the public,” Rufus said as he paced around the table.  “We can’t allow that.  Since we’ve ousted our mole, I propose we begin making plans for the attack, to rid us of this problem before it becomes unmanageable.”

 

There were no arguments and Cloud’s friends stared at him with surprise.  They had been told more than once that ShinRa was on the side of good but hearing it and actually seeing it were two different things.  Cid’s pen rolled off the table onto the floor and the pilot excused himself and bent over to retrieve it.  While he was doing so, he happened to glance across the way beneath the table to where Cloud was sitting and he stared.

 

Two male hands were stroking his friend’s knees.  One of them belonged to Reno, who was sitting on Cloud’s left.  The other belonged to Zack, on Cloud’s right.  Cid was so startled that he bumped his head and cursed loudly before sitting back up.

 

Vincent solicitously helped him straighten back up and Cid blinked at Cloud, so taken aback by the knowledge that the kid was a penis-puffer that he was literally speechless. 

 

_~Okay, the guy’s quiet so it’s not that surprising I’ve never noticed this before.  How the fucking HELL did he get involved with Reno of the Turks, though?  His pal Zack I can understand but RENO?  That’s like oil and water!~_

He straightened back up in his chair and stared across the table at Cloud.  Rufus was speaking again but the pilot was too floored by his discovery to pay any attention.

 

“You’re _gay_?” Cid hollered, pointing at Cloud’s startled face.

 

Poor Cloud shrank in his chair as if Cid had denounced him as a traitor.  Vincent glanced at Reeve beside him and the engineer put his face in his hands.  Reno’s eyebrows went into his hair and Rude grumbled something.  Tifa gave Cid a remonstrating look and Barret just looked plain confused, while Yuffie stopped making a swan out of her napkin and stared between Cid and Cloud with interest.

 

“I really don’t think this is the time to discuss Strife’s preferences,” Rufus said sternly, eying Cid with annoyance.  “We have much bigger concerns to worry about.”

 

Yuffie peeked under the table and spotted Reno and Zack’s hands on Cloud’s knees before the two men could withdraw them.  She came back up with a superior look on her face and she made a “shame” finger at Cloud.

 

“Keeping all the good ones for yourself?” She accused with a grin.  “I should have known!”

 

Zack, hunky creature that he was, attempted to rectify the situation.  “Okay look,” he said as he released Cloud’s knee and spread his hands, “You’re all his friends, right?  Does it really matter?”

 

Barret still looked confused.  “The _hell_?  Cloud’s gay?” he sputtered, looking between Cid and the blonde fighter.

 

“Oh, for the love of Gaia,” Tifa huffed, standing up and putting her palms flat on the table.  “So what if he’s gay!  Cid, stop looking so freaked out, he’s not going to make a pass at you!  Yuffie, quit looking so happy…it’s creepy.    Zack, stop making bunny ears behind my head.”

 

“Lady’s sharp,” Zack commented as he took his seat again.

 

Tifa looked at Barret.  “Are you going to freak out too?” she asked.

 

The dark-skinned man looked more bewildered than anything else.  “Holy,” he muttered before looking at Cloud.  “How long has this been going on, Spiky?”

 

Cloud shrugged, his face a lovely shade of pink.  “A while.”

 

Barret looked from him to Zack, having not seen the evidence that Reno was involved too and making his own conclusions.  “Well, if you’re happy, I guess it doesn’t matter,” he finished.

 

“Thanks,” Cloud muttered.

 

“Okay, he’s gay and we’re all thrilled,” Reno muttered.  “So what’s the plan, bossman?  Are we kicking everything into gear or what?”

 

“Yes,” Rufus stated impatiently.  “We’re going to make immediate plans to converge on Deepground’s base near Icicle.  Everyone should rest while they can; I want us moving out in the morning.”

 

Barret looked a little concerned and Tifa knew why.  “Don’t worry, Barret.  Denzel keeps a sharp eye out on Marlene and they have their own escort to and from school.”

 

“As long as you think she’s safe,” the big man said, trusting Tifa above all others.  “I’m gonna go spend some time with her now, since the meeting’s finished.”

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

“Well look at it this way,” Zack consoled softly as he waited with Cloud and Reno for everyone else to clear out of the boardroom, “Now you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to tell them.”

 

Cloud shrugged.  “I guess so.” 

 

Reno could tell the blonde was upset by the way Cid had reacted and he patted him on the back.  “Don’t sweat it, Blondie.  The guy was just shocked.  What do ya say we go get a couple of drinks?”

 

Rufus glanced at Cloud on his way out, then shared a look with Tseng.  Everyone that mattered to him already _knew_ he was gay and he felt an odd sense of compassion for the other blonde.  He just didn’t know how to express it.  Tseng nodded at him encouragingly and the president turned around and addressed Cloud once the others were out of earshot.

 

“If he’s your friend, he’ll get over it.” Rufus said simply.

 

Cloud looked up at him uncertainly and nodded slowly.  Since there was little more he could do, Rufus took his leave with Tseng.  He noticed Cid waiting outside the door and he smirked a little, sure that the pilot was waiting for Cloud to come out.  Highwind wasn’t a congenial man but Rufus was sure he was loyal to his friends.  He passed the pilot and walked with Tseng to the elevators.

 

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it now,” Cloud murmured when he was alone in the room with Zack and Reno.  “I could use a drink.”

 

“It’s on me,” Reno offered as they stood up.

 

They made it out the door to find Cid waiting for them.  Zack and Reno glanced at each other and kept going, giving Cloud and Cid a moment of privacy.  Cloud stood there while his lovers walked away and he gazed at Cid warily, expecting another outburst.  When Reno and Zack were far enough down the hall, the pilot spoke.

 

“Hey kid, sorry I put you on the spot like that,” Cid apologized uncomfortably.  “It just shook me up a little, finding out like that.  I know you’re not a sissy, even if ya do take it up the wizwang.”

 

Cloud cleared his throat awkwardly as his face warmed with embarrassment.  Cid’s choice of words weren’t exactly flattering but the pilot meant well.  “Sorry I didn’t tell you before,” he muttered.  “I didn’t know how you’d take it…or anyone else, for that matter.  Tifa, Reeve, Vincent and Denzel were the only ones that knew until now.” 

 

While he knew it wasn’t his place to do it, he thought Cid should find out about Vincent and Reeve now, too.  It was better for him to get over it before the fight tomorrow so that he wouldn’t be distracted.  “Reeve and Vincent are together.”

 

  Cid had started packing his cigarettes and he froze, looking up at Cloud with his mouth twisted.  “What, you mean like you and that Turk and your buddy Zack are together?”

 

Cloud nodded.

 

Cid frowned in thought and tapped a cigarette out of the pack, putting it between his lips.  “Doesn’t surprise me that much, now that I think of it.”

 

“But you freaked out when you found out about me,” Cloud protested, feeling a little robbed.

 

“’Cause you’ve been living with Tifa and the kids,” Cid shrugged.  “I figured something would happen between you two sooner or later.”

 

Cloud sighed.  “So you’re really okay with this?  You aren’t going to be freaking out all day?”

 

“Takes some getting used to but it’s none of my damned business,” Cid confirmed.  “Now let’s go downstairs with your boyfriends so I can grab a beer.”  He waited to light his cigarette up, having enough courtesy not to expose Cloud and the others to his smoke in an enclosed elevator.  Reno and Zack were waiting by the elevator for them and they looked questioningly at Cloud and Cid.

 

“Hope they have a decent beer selection at that bar downstairs,” Cid remarked casually as he pushed the “down” button on the elevator and waited for the doors to open.

 

Zack gave Cloud a knowing grin that said; “See, I _told_ you it would be okay!”

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	18. Chapter 18

“Alliance”

Chapter 18

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Later that night, Cid had to help them with Zack because the man had no alcohol tolerance in his new body and he couldn’t stand upright on his own.  His wings manifested…which probably would have given Cid a heart attack if the booze hadn’t numbed his reactions.  Cloud explained the phenomenon to the pilot as best he could as the three of them half-carried Zack out of the bar and to the elevator.  With Cid’s help, they got him into Cloud’s room and on his bed.  Zack was so out of it he just laid there, humming off-tune and chuckling.

 

“I should have expected this,” Cloud sighed as he peered blearily at his inebriated lover.  “The only other time he’s had a drink since he got back was when we shared that pitcher of beer.  How many shots did he have, Reno?”

 

“Uh, about eight,” the Turk guessed.  “Maybe I should have gone a little easier on him, yo.”

 

The drinking game had been Reno’s idea, of course.  Something wicked had taken hold of him while they were playing it and every time he got the coin in the glass he made poor Zack drink.  At one point the black-haired man had tried to get up to visit the restroom and he fell on his ass and asked a passing waiter if he was all right.  Reno had been overcome with snickers but Cloud decided then and there that they’d all had enough to drink.

 

“Thanks for helping us with him, Cid,” Cloud said to the pilot.

 

“Well there was no way you two were gonna get him here by yourselves,” grumbled Cid.  “Not with those wings of his in the way, anyhow.  Hmph, so he can really fly?”

 

“Yeah,” confirmed the blonde.  “He’s gotten pretty good at it, too.”

 

“We just gotta make sure he doesn’t try doing it tonight,” Reno said with a frown.  “Can’t have bird-boy jumping out the window in his condition.”

 

“That’s a good point,” Cloud agreed, shooting a worried look at the bedroom window.

 

“I’ll leave you guys to work it out,” Cid said.  “I’m going to get some shut-eye so I’m not too hungover in the morning.”  He waved at them and turned, heading out the bedroom door.

 

Alone now, Cloud and Reno pondered their dilemma.  They could take shifts through the night but that would deprive them both of much-needed sleep.  Of course, they could always sleep on the way to the Northern Continent if they had to.  The strike force was going to be even bigger this time so they would once again be relying on sea travel to get there.  It would take several hours by boat.

 

Reno stuck his hands into his pockets absently and his fingers came into contact with a pair of cuffs he had stashed in there.  He grinned as an idea formulated in his mind.  “Hey Cloud, I know _one_ way we can make sure he doesn’t take a dive out the window while we’re sleeping.”

 

 Cloud looked at him as he pulled the cuffs out and dangled them before the blonde’s eyes.  “No.”

 

“You said that pretty fast,” argued the redhead, “but what happens if you wake up in the morning and find your sexy black wolf dead in the street below, man?”

 

The sapphire gaze wavered as Cloud looked from the cuffs to Zack’s oblivious form.  “I don’t know how he’d react to being cuffed to the bed.”

 

“Who says ya gotta cuff him to the bed?” Reno snorted.  He grabbed Cloud’s hand and slapped one of the cuffs over his wrist.  “Cuff him to you.  I’m sure he wouldn’t mind that.”

 

Cloud looked at the metal enclosed around his wrist before meeting Reno’s blue-green eyes.  “I don’t know if I’m getting kinkier or you’re getting more practical, but that plan makes some sense.”

 

“Run with it, baby.”  Reno winked at him.

 

Cloud really couldn’t think of a better idea, so he climbed onto the bed with Zack and cuffed the black-haired man’s left wrist to his.  Reno joined him, wriggling in on Zack’s other side and grinning.

 

“Hope Zack doesn’t mind,” the redhead yawned.  “I’ve had too much to drink to try driving home and he makes a good pillow.”  The wing that was spread out beneath him felt good against his body…comforting, like a feathery embrace.

 

Cloud couldn’t quite hide his own little smile.  “I’m sure he won’t care.”  He laid his head on Zack’s chest and Reno did the same.  They smiled at one another and Cloud impulsively scooted a little closer to give the Turk a goodnight kiss before treating Zack to the same.

 

“Is that all I get?” Reno whispered in disappointment.

 

“Well, we can’t really do more with Zack passed out between us,” Cloud muttered.

 

“Sure we can, we’ve just gotta be inventive.”  Reno leered at him.

 

“Go to sleep, Reno,” sighed Cloud. 

 

“Killjoy,” the redhead grunted.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

The sound of Cloud and Reno’s phone alarms going off simultaneously woke Zack from his sleep.  His eyes popped open and he groaned softly at the resulting throb in his head.  He felt weight on his chest and he looked down to find two heads nestled there.  His dark brows shot up with surprise and he grinned.  He’d expected to find Cloud sleeping on him but he hadn’t expected Reno, too.  They were all dressed so he knew he hadn’t missed out on anything too thrilling in an alcohol-induced blackout. 

 

Cloud stirred first, mumbling incoherently as he started to reach out for his phone.  It was then that Zack realized the two of them were cuffed together by the wrist.  Zack snickered helplessly as he resisted Cloud’s efforts to lift his hand.  The confusion in those cornflower blue eyes as they blinked open and looked at him was just priceless.

 

“So I’m asking myself why I’ve got a chocobo cuffed to me,” Zack murmured conversationally.  “And I’m drawing a blank.”

 

“We were afraid you’d try to jump out the window or something,” Cloud explained in a sleepy voice, “you were pretty wasted.”

 

Another chuckle burst from Zack’s lips.  “Why the _hell_ would I jump out the window, Cloudy?”

 

The blonde shrugged.  “I dunno.  Reno said you might decide to take a drunken flight and it made sense to me at the time.”

 

Reno.  He should have known.  Zack looked down at the Turk, who was blissfully ignoring the alarms and sleeping like a log.  “Hey cinnamon buns, wake up,” Zack muttered as he reached for the redhead’s shoulder with his free hand.  He gently shook him and Reno grumbled and burrowed his face into the spot where Zack’s shoulder met his neck.

 

“He’s hard to wake up, sometimes,” Cloud informed with a yawn. 

 

“Yeah?” Zack murmured.  “Guess I’ve gotta use my imagination.”  He blew into Reno’s ear and the Turk absently scratched at it with a little moan of distress.  Zack grinned and did it again, making Reno curse and sit up.

 

“Shit, what time is it?” Reno grumbled, looking from Zack to Cloud with heavy-lidded eyes.  He saw his cuffs binding the two fighters together and he smirked.  “I’ll bet you’re wondering how that happened,” he said to Zack.

 

“Apparently I strike you two as the kind of guy that’ll jump out the window when I’ve had a few drinks,” Zack said dryly.  “Cloud explained it to me.”  He ran his fingers through his mussed dark hair and grimaced.  “Does anyone have some aspirin?  I’m going to be useless if I’ve got this monster headache when we make it up north.”

 

“I can go get some from the general store,” Reno offered.  He clutched his head and moaned faintly.  “As soon as the room stops spinning, yo.”

 

“I’ll get it,” Cloud said.  “I didn’t get as trashed as you two last night.”

 

Reno didn’t argue.  Instead, he searched through his pockets until he found his keys and he unlocked the cuffs binding Cloud and Zack’s wrists.  After replacing the cuffs in his blazer he plopped back down on the bed beside Zack with a complete lack of modesty or concern.  Zack looked down at the vivid red hair that was again lying on his chest and then he looked at Cloud.

 

“I think he’s comfortable with me,” the black-haired fighter announced softly.

 

Cloud smirked, pleased with how easily and trustingly Reno lay with Zack.  It could just be a symptom of exhaustion making the redhead so tractable, but he had a feeling his lovers were taking the first step into expanding their relationship with each other.

 

“I’ll be back in a little while,” Cloud said as he stood up.  “We’ll have to start getting ready to go, soon.”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

After taking a dose of the aspirin Cloud brought up from the company general store, Zack went to his own suite to shower and get changed while Reno and Cloud did the same in his.  The Turk only had one change of clothes in Cloud’s closet, so after having a very pleasant shower and a quickie with the blonde, he had to make a trip to his apartment a few blocks away to get more clothes for the trip.  There was no telling how long it was going to take for the allied forces to defeat Deepground, so it was important for everyone to pack suitably for it.

 

When he returned, Reno declined Cloud and Zack’s offer to join them for breakfast.

 

“There’s something I’ve gotta do before we go,” the redhead explained.  “Something important…for a friend.”

 

Cloud watched him as he went to the elevators and the blonde frowned.  “That was strange,” he muttered.

 

Zack watched the Turk as well, mentally reviewing Reno’s words.  “He wants to do something for a friend…who do you think that would be, Sunshine?”

 

Cloud shook his head.  “I’ve got no idea.  Trying to predict Reno is like trying to predict the weather without satellite equipment.”

 

Zack grinned at the analogy.  “Guess it’s not our business.  Don’t look so worried, kiddo.”

 

Cloud’s expression of concern didn’t fade.  “You don’t know Reno like I do.  He’s got that look in his eye that usually means trouble.”

 

“So what are you saying…you want to follow him?”  Zack watched the Turk disappear into the elevator with a frown of his own.

 

Cloud looked at the black-haired man with a guilty expression and bit his lip.  “I know, I should trust him, right?  It’s just…Reno doesn’t always have good judgment and I don’t want him to get into trouble.”

 

Zack grimaced.  He didn’t like the thought of sneaking around spying on Reno but Cloud seemed genuinely worried.  “He’s your guy, Chocobo.  If you’re worried about him then _I’m_ worried.  Let’s see what floor his elevator stops on and try to track him.”

 

Cloud gave him a tentative smile.  “Thanks, Zack.”

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Reno went to the medical ward and located Cissnei’s room.  “Hey Ciss.  How ya feeling?”

 

She looked up at him and forced a wan smile.  “Okay, I guess…all things considered.  The doctors say I can start having physical therapy soon and I might be able to walk again.”

 

Reno swallowed and nodded, wishing with all his being that he could have stopped this from happening to her.  “What do ya say you and I take a little spin before I head out to fight those bastards, eh?”

 

“What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously as he unfolded the wheelchair that was propped against the wall.  “They won’t let me leave the building, yet.”  She flinched involuntarily as Reno approached and gently lifted her out of the bed.

 

“I’m not taking you out of the building,” he explained softly, trying to ignore the way she trembled in his arms.  “I’m just taking you for a little walk.  I’ve got a present for ya, doll.”  Her arms went around his neck and he felt a little better.  He smiled at her.  “Trust me?”

 

Cissnei nodded.  As crazy as Reno was reputed to be, he and Elena were the two Turks she trusted the most.  “I hope you aren’t planning something that will get you in trouble,” she said seriously, fighting against her body’s instinctive fear of his masculinity.  Reno was her comrade, not her enemy. 

 

Reno set her carefully in the wheelchair and unhooked her IV bag from the rack to hang it on the one attached to the wheelchair.  “You know me,” he said with a shrug.  “But if this pans out, it’ll be worth a spanking or two.”

 

Cissnei blurted a giggle…her first laugh to utter since she’d been assaulted.  Reno grinned at her again and began pushing her wheelchair out of the room.  A nurse stopped him and asked where he was going with the patient and he flashed his ID badge and told her he was just taking Cissnei for a little stroll through the building.  Having enough sense not to argue with a Turk, the nurse reluctantly let him take the young woman down the hall to the elevator.

 

Reno took her to the holding cell area and as he was wheeling her down the hall toward the cell where her assailant was being held, he sensed his audience.  The redhead stopped and leaned over to whisper in his charge’s ear.

 

“Just wait here a sec, Cissnei.  I’ll be right back.”

 

She nodded, looking at him with puzzlement as he walked away to the end of the hall. 

 

“Ya might as well come out, guys.  I know you’re following me.”  Reno tapped his foot impatiently and waited.

 

Cloud and Zack emerged from the T-intersection, both looking boyishly guilty.  Reno rolled his eyes at them.  “For a couple of dudes with military training, you’re kind of clumsy in the stealth department.  I heard you two arguing from inside the fire escape.”

 

“ _Told_ you we should have just come out and said something,” Zack muttered to Cloud.

 

“I’m sorry,” Cloud said, closing the distance between he and Reno.  “I should have just asked what you were up to.”  He tilted his head and frowned.  “So what _are_ you up to, Reno?”

 

“I told ya, I’m helping a friend.”  Reno nodded Cissnei’s way, daring the blonde with his eyes to interfere.

 

“By bringing her to see one of the guys that raped her?” Zack said incredulously.

 

Reno drew his gun and shook his head.  “No, by letting her blow the fucker away.”  He clicked off the safety and started to turn back to the young woman in the wheelchair.

 

Cloud reached out and grabbed his shoulder, “Wait a minute…have you thought this through?” he demanded softly.  “Do you think she can do it?”

 

Reno looked over his shoulder at him, his pale features set and stern.  “She’s a Turk, man.  If everyone keeps treating her like she’s just a victim, that’s all she’s ever gonna be.  I’m giving her the chance to take her power back, Blondie.”

 

Cloud and Zack stared speechlessly at him.  Both of them had forgotten that the sweet, ravished young woman was also a Turk.  Both of them had forgotten that if any rape survivor could pull the trigger, a Turk could.  As much as their morals questioned Reno’s plan, they couldn’t deny that there was some merit to it.  The gun would provide distance, allowing Cissnei to take revenge on her attacker without having to get close to him.

 

“I’ll watch the door,” Zack said with a set jaw.

 

Reno nodded at him and returned to Cissnei’s side.  She looked at him in confusion when he gently laid the gun in her gowned lap.  “Reno, what’s going on?” she whispered.

 

He moved around to the front of her chair and knelt before her, looking into her eyes.  “This is the holding cell area, doll.  You know one of your attackers is in here, right?”

 

Her breath caught and she paled.  “I…I don’t understand.”

 

“I’m giving you the chance to pull the trigger,” Reno explained.  He glanced at Cloud and Zack, who were coming up behind Cissnei.  Cloud looked uncertain but Zack had an expression of grim resolve on his features.  “My buds and I are going to be right here by your side, Ciss.  That fucker won’t lay a finger on you and if you wanna be the one to send him to hell, you’ve got your chance.  It’s your choice, though.”

 

Cissnei looked at the gun in her lap and she reached for it with slender, trembling hands.  Her hold on the weapon steadied as she lifted it up and her bow-shaped lips pressed together with determination.  She looked up over her shoulder at Zack and whispered his name questioningly.

 

“I’ll kill him for you if you ask me to,” Zack said earnestly.  “You’re calling the shots now, Cissnei.  This guy’s going down eventually one way or the other and it’s up to you whether you want to be the one to do it.”

 

She steeled herself and nodded.  “I want to,” she said.

 

Reno took his blazer off and draped it over the young woman’s lap, concealing the gun she held.  “Let’s get the show on the road, then.”

 

He wheeled Cissnei to the holding cell and told the guard to unlock it.  The man looked at Cissnei and then at Reno, Cloud and Zack with a wary expression.  “Isn’t she the one he…you know?” he whispered to the redhead.

 

“Yeah,” Reno said.  “She wants to look him in the eye just once before he’s executed, man.  You can make yourself scarce if you’re afraid of getting in trouble.”

 

The guard handed his key over to Reno.  “Just give it back to me when you’re finished,” he said with a gulp.  “I’m going for a bathroom break.  I never saw you.”  Evidently he’d guessed that this little visit wasn’t just for a look at the prisoner, despite Cissnei’s weapon being concealed.  His gaze was on Zack and the way the former Soldier’s jaw was tensed.  Clearly he thought the black-haired man was going to be the one to do something.

 

“Right, never saw ya,” Reno agreed.  “Now scram.”

 

The guard hastily made his retreat, leaving the two Turks and their companions alone in the hallway.  Reno handed the key to Cloud, who unlocked the door and pushed it open.  The redhead pushed his female comrade’s wheelchair through the door while Zack stood outside and watched for intruders.  The sable-haired fighter glanced up and noticed a camera.  He swore softly and asked Reno for his blazer.

 

“Just in case,” Zack said as the redhead took the garment from Cissnei and handed it to him.  Zack draped it over the camera to blind the device.  “We probably don’t have much time,” he warned, “Even without seeing what’s going on, security’s probably going to come down and check when they realize the camera’s covered.”

 

“Don’t need much time,” Reno said with certainty as he watched Cissnei stare at her attacker.  The rapist was sitting on the cell bunk, looking back at the Turk girl with recognition.

 

“Well, look at this,” the rapist said.  The slight tremor in his voice hinted that he knew what was coming, but he was too proud or too crazy to let fear rule him.  “Did you come back for more, ShinRa bitch?”

 

Cissnei didn’t answer him.  Instead, she raised her borrowed gun and took aim.  It happened faster than Cloud or Zack expected it to.  There was no hesitation at all and both of them were vaguely thankful that Reno’s gun was equipped with a silencer as Cissnei peppered the rapist’s body with bullets.  She fired until the chamber was empty and she kept clicking the trigger even when she was out of ammo. 

 

Shouts of alarm rang out through the hallway and Zack was struck with the instinct to flee or fight as security guards came running, with Tseng following in their wake.  They piled into the cell and stared at the bullet-riddled body lying on the floor.  Cissnei was staring blankly at the corpse, having finally stopped pulling the trigger.  Tseng came in behind Reno, assessed the situation and nodded to the security guards.

 

“Clean it up,” the Wutaian ordered.  He turned to Reno and looked at him with deceptively neutral eyes.  “Explain this.  _Now_.”

 

“I gave her the chance to send him off,” Reno shrugged, holding Tseng’s gaze bravely.  “She deserved the right, boss.”

 

Tseng’s eyes went to Cissnei, who had lowered the gun and was watching the security guards drag the body out with detached satisfaction.  He circled around her chair and knelt before her, much the same way that Reno had done when he’d made his offer to her earlier.  “Cissnei?  Is this what you wanted?”

 

She looked at him and for the first time since the attack, he saw some life returning to her soft, brown eyes.  “Yes Sir.  This is what I _needed_.”  Her stress on the word “ _needed_ ” was all the conformation necessary.  Tseng nodded slowly and stood back up. 

 

“Take her back to her room, Reno,” ordered the Wutaian.  He looked at Cloud and Zack thoughtfully.  “I’m a bit surprised that the two of you were involved in this without protest.

 

The two fighters exchanged a look.  “I think I can speak for both of us when I say sometimes, justice is served best by the hand that was wronged,” Zack said grimly.

 

Tseng was impressed and he was forcibly reminded that Zack was no stranger to unsavory ends justifying the means.  Cloud looked a bit more disturbed by the event, but no less resolved. 

 

“Words to live by,” agreed Tseng softly.  “We’re to be deployed within the hour, so if you want a hot meal I suggest you have it now.”

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

They had breakfast in the cafeteria with the other Turks and Cloud’s friends before they boarded the ships at the harbor.  Rufus had the remaining Deepground prisoners transported to a more secure prison before they left.  The woman spy that Zack had discovered was given special treatment, as promised.  She wasn’t free to go—Rufus wasn’t about to take that risk—but she was given private quarters and personal guards for now, until it could be determined that she wasn’t a security risk or the threat was ended. 

 

By her own request, Elena stayed behind to watch over Cissnei and help her recover.  Given how close the two Turk women had grown to one another over the years, Tseng couldn’t bring himself to refuse her request.  It was actually refreshing to know that Cissnei would have a trusted friend at her side while the rest of them fought to end the Deepground threat.

 

Most of them napped through the journey, when they weren’t visiting with each other.  There wasn’t a lot to do on the ship and Reno ended up snuggled with Rude on one of the sleeping bunks for the first few hours.  Word had spread that Zack force-fed the prisoners cat litter to make them talk and he got looks ranging from amusement to disgust from people in passing.

 

“Geez, I’m never going to live that down,” the black-haired fighter complained as he and Yuffie passed a female WRO agent that grimaced at him.

 

“Live _what_ down?” Yuffie asked, looking up at him with a faintly dreamy expression on her pixie-like features. 

 

_~Damn, this boy is hot.  I wonder what him and Cloud get up to when they’re alone?  Ooh, don’t go there, Yuffie.  Oops, I went there.  I’m still going there, too.  Hmph, I wonder if guys know girls think of them together sometimes?  You’d think they would since they’re always talking about girl on girl action.  Hmmm…naked Cloud and naked Zack…together…nice!~_

“I made some of the Deepground punks eat cat litter to get them talking,” Zack explained.

 

Yuffie stopped in her tracks, her fantasies about the handsome fighter and Cloud dissolving to be rudely replaced with the unsavory mental picture.  “Oh.  My.  _Gawd._ That’s like…yarg!  When did you do _that_?”

 

“The same day you guys made it to Junon,” Zack answered with a chuckle.  “Torture wasn’t working on them so I took a gamble.  Hey, it worked, didn’t it?”  He looked a little embarrassed.

 

“Yeah, but…ew!  I hope you had a shower afterwards!”  Yuffie shuddered, hugging herself.

 

“I wore gloves and I got cleaned up afterwards,” Zack assured her.  “What kind of a slob do you think I am, kitten?”

 

“Bleh,” Yuffie grimaced.  “Better you than me.  So that’s why everyone keeps looking at you like a celebrity or a villain!”

 

“Yup,” Zack sighed.  “I’m now ‘kitty litter man’.  I can think of about a hundred other ways I’d like to go down in history, too.”

 

She felt sorry for him.  “Hey, you were just trying to get information.  Like pulling fingernails out isn’t gross too…people can be such hypocrites.  Oh look, there’s Barret and Cloud!”  She ran across the deck to her friends, who were standing by the railing and talking to each other.  Zack felt a little better about his status as a poo shoveler and he followed her with a smile.

 

~****************************~

* * *

 

“Rufus, we’ve got reports coming in that Icicle’s been attacked,” Reeve entered the president’s private quarters with Vincent following closely behind.  Normally he would address the man with more respect but he was shaken by the news and he forgot about formalities.

 

“Attacked in what way?” Rufus inquired grimly, wondering if Deepground were rounding people up again.

 

“It’s hard to tell for certain with the information we’ve gotten,” Vincent explained, “the transmission was broken but it seems they’ve begun testing their biological weapons.  People are evacuating, trying to get far away from the Icicle area.”

 

“We probably won’t know the details until we arrive and see for ourselves,” Reeve added.  He exchanged a look with Vincent and sighed.  “It seems they broadcasted a warning just before striking the town.  They’ve declared that normal humans must be ‘purged’ or ‘turned’, whatever that means.”

 

“Are they currently occupying Icicle or have they retreated back to their base?” Rufus asked.

 

“They went in, struck and withdrew,” Vincent confirmed.  “They took those they didn’t kill…just as before when they were trying to raise Omega.”

 

“But Omega is gone now,” muttered the president thoughtfully.  “They have no _reason_ to take prisoners except to increase their own numbers.”

 

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what they’re doing,” Reeve said.  “These people are fanatical in their hatred of humanity, Sir.  I have a theory that by ‘turned’, they mean mutated.  As I said before; we won’t know for certain until we can investigate ourselves but this whole thing sounds to me like they want humans dead or made to be like them.”

 

“And that could be where the biological weaponry comes in,” sighed the president.  “So we don’t know the effects of this tactic, yet?”

 

Vincent shook his head.  “Those who lived to tell about it aren’t staying behind to give details.  The best we can hope for is that the residents of surrounding communities get out before they too are attacked.”

 

Rufus nodded, glad that they had prepared somewhat for biological warfare.  “I want our people immediately equipped with gas masks when we arrive,” he ordered.  “Until we know what to expect, I’d rather not take chances.  See if we can locate the frequency that Deepground is using for communications as well.  We should press every advantage possible.”

 

“Right away, Sir,” agreed Reeve.  He and Vincent excused themselves and left Rufus alone with his thoughts.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

“What’s this?” Reno stared at the mask his partner held out to him.  They had just docked and the WRO was unloading the transport vehicles, aircrafts and weaponry. 

 

“A precaution,” answered the bald man.  “The president wants everyone wearing them until the fighting’s over.”

 

“But we’re gonna be fighting from the air,” protested Reno with a distasteful look at the mask.  “Why do _we_ need these things?”

 

“Because if Deepground’s weapon is some kind of air-born virus it can still get us,” Rude explained.  “Come on, partner.”

 

With a heavy sigh, Reno took the ugly thing and strapped it over his face while Rude did the same with his own mask.  The redhead felt a little better about it when he spotted both Rufus and Tseng walking toward them from the ship, each of them sporting gas masks over their noses and mouths as well.

 

“Get ready to board your helicopter,” Rufus said.  His voice was distorted by the mask but coherent.

 

“You’re really putting yourself in the middle of this?” Reno asked, his eyes showing his concern.  He knew Rufus desired a more active role but he’d expected him to stay at the base to monitor communications and give orders.  By the look of it, he was going straight into battle with the rest of them.  He had abandoned his usual sharp business suit for WRO combat gear and body armor.  While the navy-blue getup looked delicious on him, it left no doubt that Rufus meant business.

 

“I’m going to be Tseng’s copilot in this fight,” Rufus said with a nod.  “Provided it goes well, I’ll continue to fight alongside my Turks and the WRO.  I’m done with sitting behind a desk while others do the work.”

 

 Reno’s senses were awash with admiration and he was reminded of why he loved this man so damned much.  “Hey boss, can you come with me to my chopper for a sec?  I want to check something out.”

 

Tseng and Rude were probably quite aware of his true methods as the redhead guided their president away but neither of them said anything.  As soon as they were behind the chopper and out of immediate visual range of others, Reno pulled his mask off to hang around his neck and he did the same with Rufus’s.

 

“Just in case things go sour, baby,” the redhead murmured before he slid his fingers into Rufus’s ash-blonde hair and kissed him deeply.  Rufus returned the kiss, smiling a little against his mouth with pleasure.

 

“I won’t shatter in a fight,” the president murmured when his subordinate ended the kiss.

 

“I know,” Reno said with a shrug.  “And you’ve got the stuff when it comes to marksmanship, boss.  I just don’t wanna have any regrets, yo.”

 

Rufus stroked the Turk’s spiked, vivid hair and nodded.  “We won’t.  We’ve lived through worse than this.  Just don’t do anything particularly reckless, Fox.”  He brought his mouth to Reno’s for another passionate kiss, refusing to admit to himself that he feared it might be their last. 

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

When they arrived at Icicle, the scene was like something from a nightmare.  Scouts reported that there was an entire army of Deepground forces to the east, in the process of retreating to wherever their base was.  The town of Icicle was in ruins and the state of the bodies was enough to turn even the most iron stomachs.

 

“What in the _hell_ did they _do_ to them?” Zack said through his mask as he knelt beside a pile of bodies.  He stroked the blond hair of a deceased child in a futile gesture, his eyes fixating on the tentacles that were once her legs.  All of the deceased had grown some sort of abnormal body part or stared blankly with Mako-bright eyes at the sky.  Their bodies were twisted as if they had died in agony, their mouths opened in silent screams.

 

“I suspect the survivors are now amongst their retreating forces,” Vincent theorized, his crimson gaze fixed on the masses to the east.  The Shera hovered above with the ShinRa helicopters, waiting to attack.  He looked up at them, narrowing his eyes against the sun.  “Reeve, shall we go after them now or wait?”

 

Reeve was so heartsick at the fate of the townsfolk left behind that he didn’t immediately answer.  Vincent approached him and rested his human hand on his shoulder.  “Reeve,’ the gunman repeated softly, willing the engineer to come back to his senses.  The other man’s dark eyes met his and they were dilated with shock.  “We need you to hold together,” Vincent murmured softly.

 

Reeve’s mouth worked and he tried to pull his thoughts together to decide what to do.  These were by far the worst casualties of war he’d ever seen and the number of small bodies lying amongst the adult ones made his throat close up.  “How far away is the enemy?” he asked tightly.

 

“A couple of miles,” answered Vincent.  “We should give chase soon.  Odds are, they’ve already seen us and are attempting to make their escape now.”

 

Reeve never got the chance to make the call.  As Cloud watched, Zack straightened up and glared in the distance at the line of retreating Deepground forces.  His eyes were bright with unshed tears and he clutched the ribbon that had been in the little girl’s hair at his feet.  His wings emerged from the back of his tailored combat gear and though his mouth was covered by the gas mask, Cloud was sure he was snarling beneath it.  The dark-haired fighter spread his wings and launched into the air.

 

“Zack?” Cloud said…but he already knew where this was going and he mounted Fenrir and started the bike up.  Zack was flying toward the enemy, not bothering to wait and see if anyone would follow him.  There was no other choice.

 

Completely by accident, Zackary Fair set the charge in motion.  Cloud followed Zack and as their loyalty dictated, his friends followed Cloud and so did Reno.  Because of their own loyalty not only to Reno but also to Cloud, Rufus and Tseng followed and once they were off, the rest of the WRO and ShinRa forces joined in.

 

Cid flew overhead in the Shera, keeping an eye on Cloud’s small form below.  Barret, Yuffie and Tifa were on board with him. 

 

“I didn’t hear them order the charge,” Tifa said dubiously.

 

“The kid’s going in with his buddy and so are we!” Cid shot back over his shoulder.  Yuffie hooted with excitement and Barret checked his prosthetic gun-arm, ready for action.

 

In Reno’s chopper, the two Turks exchanged confused look before Reno set the aircraft in motion, flanking Cid’s airship.  “Maybe communications are fucked or something,” the redhead hypothesized, assuming that Zack and Cloud’s advance was a result of an order he and Rude never got.

 

Meanwhile, Tseng and Rufus watched from their helicopter and they glanced at one another.  “Did Reeve give the order?” Rufus asked in puzzlement.

 

“I missed it, if he did,” Tseng answered calmly as he piloted the chopper to flank the other side of Cid’s airship.  “Either way, this is starting now.  Are you ready, Sir?”

 

“Of course,” answered Rufus coolly.  He pulled down the targeting visor and readied the weapons panel.

 

Reeve stared out at the snowy field with wide eyes, his voice trapped in his throat as Zack Fair’s charge prompted the entire contingent of allied forces to action. 

 

“Well, I suppose my job’s done,” the engineer said to his lover, who had readied his hover board and stepped onto it.

 

“Stay behind,” Vincent ordered, his ruby eyes narrowing on Reeve.  “I don’t want you in the middle of this.”

 

Reeve watched him speed away and he sighed, reaching up to activate the remote censor hanging from his neck.  “Of course, love.  Who says a part of me can’t participate, though?”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued    


	19. Chapter 19

“Alliance”

Chapter 19

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Zack heard Cloud yelling at him to stop, but he couldn’t comply.  The sound of the blonde’s motorcycle below and behind him told him that his companion was chasing after him and judging by the sound of the rotary blades further back, some of the ShinRa forces were following as well.  The black-haired fighter was livid with rage and the only thing on his mind was punishing the people that had done _that_ to those innocent people.  He reached down and drew the guns strapped to his thighs as he drew nearer to the opposing forces.  So far, they didn’t seem to notice him.

 

His luck didn’t hold out though, mostly because of the noise associated with the Shinra air and ground transport.  As Zack closed in on the enemy they began to take notice of the sounds from the engines.  Some of them turned around and since Zack was in the lead, he was the first thing they saw.  Their surprise at being pursued by a winged man was the only thing that spoiled their aim as they started shooting at him.

 

Zack wasted no time in returning fire and taking evasive maneuvers.  He spun through the air nimbly and fired his weapons into the Deepground ranks, aiming to scatter them more than wound.  He was massively outnumbered, of course.  Once again, he was trying to take on an entire army by himself. 

 

_~I might not have thought this through very well.  Good thing the others are coming in to back me up.  Hopefully I can improvise until they close in to help.~_

The sable-haired fighter’s frantic thoughts were rudely interrupted as a missile streaked past him from somewhere behind, fired by one of the choppers.  It exploded into the ranks, causing destruction and confusion.  Zack smirked grimly and dove sharply into the fray, putting his guns away to draw his sword as he came within melee range of his enemies.  He didn’t spare time to think about what he was doing.  He landed and drew his wings into his body as he began a deadly dance, slicing and hacking at his enemies.  Vaguely he heard Fenrir off to his left and the screams of surprise hinted that Cloud had joined the fight as well.

 

He spotted a transport unit amongst the ranks of the enemy and he made his way over to it, cutting down enemies left and right.  He used his bloodied sword to break open the lock on the back of one of the units and he yanked it open, finding it full of civilians that were either sporting Mako-bright eyes or new limbs.  A couple of them had a single, stubby wing beginning to grow from their backs and Zack was almost shocked to stillness.

 

“Get out of here!” the former Soldier cried.  “We’ll cover you, just go!” 

 

Men, women and children stumbled out of the mobile prison, confused and frightened.  Zack did his best to defend them and clear the way, certain that he would fail to protect them on his own.  Thankfully, Cloud saw what he was doing and the blonde fought his way through the enemy ranks to help clear a path.  The prisoners broke free of the din, running toward Icicle where the WRO and ShinRa forces were coming from.  Zack shot a smile at Cloud, grateful for his assistance.  The blonde’s sapphire eyes met his warmly over his mask for a brief moment before he was forced to defend against the Deepground retaliation.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“ _Hurry, Cid!  Hurry, hurry!”_   Yuffie was slapping the pilot on the back anxiously, watching with wide eyes as Cloud and Zack confronted the enemies on their own.  The airship needed to get closer so that she and the others could parachute down to help—or at least, Tifa and Barret.  Yuffie planned on using a hoverboard to join the fight but her friends weren’t as comfortable with the devices, so they were opting to use the old-fashioned route.

 

“QUIT SMACKING ME, GIRL!” barked the pilot around the cigar he was smoking for the occasion.  “They’re holding their own ‘till we get there!” 

 

What he said wasn’t a lie.  Though it was just the two of them, Zack and Cloud’s combined might was already tearing a formidable line through the enemy ranks.  Zack had cut down a dozen of the Deepground soldiers already and Cloud was ripping through them with Fenrir, slashing with his swords as he went.  The element of surprise wouldn’t favor them for long, though.  The number of Deepground operatives was much larger than expected and regardless of their skill, the two swordfighters would _need_ backup very soon to avoid being overwhelmed. 

 

“Here’s some _payback_ , assholes!” Cid growled as he yanked the targeting visor down and pulled a knob on the control panel of his ship.  He winced as he did it, seeing that Cloud changed direction and sped directly towards where he aimed.  “Shit, move outta the way, kid!”

 

He couldn’t take the missile fire back and it was too late to warn Cloud over the comm. unit, but the blonde spotted the incoming explosive and thankfully, he spun Fenrir around and changed directions in time to avoid getting caught in the resulting explosion.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Fuck!” Zack swore as the earth exploded to his left, sending Deepground fighters flying in every direction.  “Cloud, you okay?”  He searched with worried eyes in the direction he’d seen his lover cut into the ranks, unable to divide his attention for very long. 

 

“Zack!” Cloud yelled.  “Get clear!”  The roar of Fenrir’s engine cut into the noisy sound of combat and Zack saw the blonde burst free of the ranks with a splatter of blood.  One opponent was hanging onto Cloud’s motorcycle, trying to climb on and knock him off.  The blonde kicked him violently in the face and made him lose his grip, leaving him behind on the snowy field.  Cloud sped away from the masses and pulled Fenrir into a turn, getting ready to unleash one of his more dangerous sword techniques on the enemy.

 

Zack was forced to defend himself as his enemies recuperated and swarmed him.  He snarled as he dodged, twisted and slashed at them, taking them down with desperate vigor the minute any of them dared to get close enough.  His mask was torn off in the fight but he hardly noticed.   He saw what appeared to be a tornado of energy heading his way, close enough to impress but far enough not to hit him.  The funnel took out an entire line of Deepground soldiers and Zack grinned when he realized it had come from Cloud.

 

The diversion took some of the heat off of the black-haired fighter, but not for long.  He realized he was in real trouble as the noose of enemy fighters closed in on him.  Zack swore and he knew that he was going to have to take to the air if he wanted to avoid getting swamped.  He sprouted his wings and used them to slap aside a few approaching fighters before launching into the air.  Gunfire immediately followed and he twisted and rolled, flying up and out of range.  When he reached a safe distance, the first thing he noticed was that Cloud was waving frantically at him and pointing at his head.  Zack frowned at the blonde and it took him a minute to realize he was pointing at his own headphones, trying to tell him to tune in and listen to orders.

 

“Oh, right,” Zack muttered, having forgotten all about the communication device.  He was a little surprised to find the headphones and mic still safely attached, since his mask had been knocked off.  He switched them on and the first thing he heard was Reno’s livid voice, shouting for him to move out of the way.

 

“ _Move_ it, Fair!  We can’t unload the heavy stuff with you in the middle of everything!  You copy?”

 

“Got it,” Zack said into the mic.  He flew towards Cloud, shooting an apologetic look in the direction of the hovering choppers and Cid’s airship.  He glanced over his shoulder at the enemy ranks and swore.  Deepground had some backup coming and it looked like they were bringing their own explosives.  In fact, a capsule streaked by him as he flew away and it landed close to Cloud, where the WRO ground forces were closing in.  A noxious, green gas emitted from it and the wind carried some of the vapors to Zack, making him cough.

 

“Oh shit, I inhaled some,” the black-haired fighter gasped, covering his mouth with one hand. 

 

He remembered those poor, twisted bodies in Icicle and he wondered if he was going to end up like them.  Obviously some of the victims survived the vapors; otherwise there wouldn’t have been anyone to save when he and Cloud had freed the captured civilians.  He took small comfort in that, remembering the brief glance he’d seen of them.  Those that lived through it had been altered and he wasn’t thrilled with the possibility of growing further body parts.

 

“What’d you say?” Reno asked over the comm. unit.  “You clear, man?”

 

“I’m clear,” Zack confirmed with another cough.  He flew further away from the army below, trying to find cleaner air to breathe.    

 

A moment later, twin rockets fired from the redhead’s chopper and blasted into the front line of the enemy ranks.  The chopper on the other side of the Shera followed suit with its own missiles and the airship itself shot a larger one.  The concussive force of the blasts as they hit made the very air tremble and Zack had to struggle a little to keep hovering.  He vaguely noticed that two figures were parachuting down from the Shera and another figure was zipping away from it at impressive speed.  Below, Vincent and the majority of the WRO ground forces had joined Cloud and were waiting to move in.

 

“They’re using some kind of gas,” Zack reported warningly.  “I’m gonna have to get another mask…mine fell off.”

 

He started back towards Icicle and saw that three more choppers were coming in to join the fight.  He glanced over his shoulder and spotted a few rocket launchers being brought in by Deepground.  “Watch it, guys…they’re getting ready to kiss you back!” 

 

Another gas capsule was fired towards the alliance forces and Zack increased his altitude, not wanting to get a double-dose of the stuff.  Shortly after the capsule was fired, missiles streaked through the air in their wake towards the alliance aircrafts.  Zack saw Cid’s airship go higher up to avoid the projectiles and he assumed the chopper that turned on its side was Reno’s.  The other chopper’s pilot wasn’t as skilled and while it tilted to avoid a direct hit, the projectile streaking past it glanced off the side and blew the copilot door open.  Zack thought he saw something fall from it but he couldn’t spare more than a cursory glance, for another missile was heading straight for _him_.

 

Zack wheeled in the air, banking sharply to the right and doing a full circle to avoid the rocket.  His heart thundered as the explosive missed him and slammed into the side of a nearby cliff, causing a rather impressive rockslide in its wake. 

 

~I’m a sitting duck right now.  I’ve got to get clear and get another mask before I can help out more.~

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

  “Rufus!”  Tseng reached for his lover and boss as the suction caused by the open door threatened to tear the president right out of his seat.  Luckily the safety harness held, but Rufus’s mask was torn from his face and he inhaled some of the mystery vapors polluting the air before he righted himself and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

 

“I’m fine,” the president coughed as he opened a compartment and got a spare mask out.  “Concentrate on avoiding their return fire, Tseng.”

 

“Yo Tseng, are you guys all right?” Reno’s voice broke through over the comm. system.

 

“Yes,” answered the Wutaian with a concerned look at Rufus.  “The blast only took one of our doors but we’re okay.”

 

“Shit, that was too close for comfort,” responded Reno.  “Maybe you guys should hang back and let us draw their fire.”

 

Rufus and Tseng’s eyes met, both of them thinking that the idea had merit, no matter how crazy it was.  Rufus adjusted his headset and spoke to the redhead.  “Reno, if you choose to do that I want you to be extra cautious.  This isn’t a game, Fox.”

 

“Yeah, I get that,” answered the redhead.  “Don’t worry, boss.  I’ve got Rude to keep me in line, yo.”

 

Rufus coughed again and nodded.  “Just watch yourself.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Where’s _he_ going?” Yuffie asked as she made it to Cloud’s side and watched Zack fly overhead, in the opposite direction from the fighting.

 

“He lost his mask,” the blonde explained, watching his lover with concerned blue eyes.

 

“Did he breathe any of that shit in?” Barret asked.  The big man was waving at the air in futility, trying to clear the green vapors.  Thankfully the handful of civilians that Cloud and Zack had freed was out of range now and Reeve had been notified of their exodus.  The WRO leader had medical staff ready to see to them and hopefully they could do something for them.

 

“I don’t know,” Cloud answered uncertainly.  “I hope not.”

 

“Well, we can’t move in right now anyhow,” Tifa said.  “We’ll just get in the way of Cid and the others if we try.”

 

“Knew I should have stayed on the Shera with Cid,” Yuffie grumbled.  “He’s getting all the action, now!”

 

“We’ll have our fight soon enough,” Vincent chided her as he stopped his hoverboard next to hers.  “Be patient, Yuffie.”

 

Cloud spotted a familiar, unlikely sight and he almost chuckled as a new addition hopped up behind Vincent.  “You’ve got a visitor,” the blonde observed.

 

Vincent turned to find Cait Sith approaching on his giant mog.  The gunman sighed and shook his head at the mechanical cat, not entirely surprised by his appearance but annoyed that Reeve had snuck him into the fight.  If anything happened to the cat, Reeve would suffer some mental backlash.

 

“Our boy’s a stubborn one, lad,” Cait Sith informed the gunman as he approached.  “Ya can’t expect him ta sit back an do nothing, after all!”

 

“I really hope you’re equipped with good materia,” Vincent murmured.

 

“Of course, I am!”  Cait Sith held up his megaphone, revealing a row of powerful red, green and yellow materia socketed to the odd weapon.

 

“Uh, guys…do you hear that whistling sound?” Yuffie said, distracting Vincent from his misgivings. 

 

Cloud looked up and saw the bomb coming at them.  “ _SCATTER!_ ” He shouted to his friends.  He grabbed Tifa around the waist and Fenrir’s tires kicked up snow and dirt as he drove away with her.

 

“Aw, man!”  Barret charged in the opposite direction with Yuffie, while Cait Sith and Vincent retreated to the west.  Their WRO allies also scattered to avoid the incoming explosion, but a few weren’t fast enough and their screams filled the air as the bomb hit and went off.  In the aftermath of the explosion, several organization members dragged their wounded and fallen comrades away while hover vehicles equipped with rockets arrived at the scene. 

 

“’Bout time they brought the big guns,” Barret growled.  Like Yuffie, he was frustrated that he wasn’t able to move in close enough to do some damage of his own.  The WRO began locking and loading their explosives, returning ground fire as quickly as they could. 

 

Cloud skidded his bike to a stop and let Tifa drop to the ground.  “You okay?” he asked her.

 

“Fine,” she assured him, watching as missiles and bombs streaked over the snowy field.  “There’s a lot more Deepground forces than I thought there would be!”

 

“Yeah,” he agreed.  “Zack and I got lucky we hit them before their reinforcements got here.”  Cloud looked up and spotted his black-haired lover approaching through the air.  He waved him down and Zack landed, now equipped with a new mask.

 

“You didn’t breathe any of that stuff, did you?” the blonde asked as soon as the other fighter’s feet touched the ground.

 

“A little,” Zack admitted.  “But hey, I’m already kind of mutated, so maybe nothing will happen to me.”

 

Cloud’s eyes were wide and worried, as were Tifa’s.  “You should go back to Icicle and have the medical staff check you out,” suggested the barmaid.

 

“I’m okay,” Zack said lightly.  “Really.  Don’t worry about me.”  His eyes narrowed as he spotted a silhouette on a cliff in the distance.  “Huh.  Looks like we’ve got an audience, guys.”

 

Tifa turned and looked as he pointed and she saw a familiar figure standing on the cliff.  She remembered seeing the same man in Midgar.  She couldn’t make out any details but like before, he was wearing a long coat and he had one wing sprouting from his left shoulder.

 

“Who _is_ that?” the barmaid wondered aloud, her attention momentarily diverted from the chaos of battle.

 

“I’m about to go find out,” Zack answered grimly.  He launched into the air, leaving a couple of drifting white feathers in his wake.

 

Cloud watched him wing his way over to the distant cliff and he wished he’d thought to ask to go with him.  He could think of a few people from the past that had single wings and despite Aerith’s assurances that Sephiroth wasn’t involved in this mess; he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

 

His concerns for Zack were quickly drowned by concerns for Reno as the redhead’s chopper passed overhead, moving straight for the enemy ranks.  He looked up with a bewildered expression, his stomach lurching as the aircraft dodged the missiles firing at it with heart-stopping moves.  How in the world Rude managed to concentrate to return fire was a mystery to him, but somehow the bald man must have managed, for the aircraft’s machine guns began to fire on the enemy ground forces.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Zack could tell by the stance of the figure in the distance that he’d been spotted.  The man waited for him, not bothering to flee the scene.  As he drew nearer and got a better look at him, he recognized him.  He couldn’t even pretend to be shocked as he landed on the cliff behind the one-winged man and approached him.

 

“Figures,” Zack muttered.  “So aren’t you going to say anything?”

 

The man turned, regarding him with aqua blue eyes.  His collar length, auburn hair blew in the wind and he had a distracted expression on his sculpted face.  “A man has only one life, but history can remember you forever.”

 

“Cut the crap, Genesis,” Zack growled.  “If all you’re going to do is spout poetry at me—“

 

“It’s relevant, don’t you think?” Genesis interrupted, his eyes sweeping Zack’s wings.  “Your goal is, as always, to be a hero.  I like the wings, Zackary.  Oh, and I owe you some thanks.  It was because of you that they were able to stop my deterioration.”

 

Zack frowned at his words.  Even when he wasn’t spouting poetry, Genesis still didn’t make any damn sense.  “So wait…you’re saying the research they did on me cured your deterioration, right?”

 

Genesis nodded.  “Correct.”  He looked out at the battle happening beneath them and sighed.  “Sadly, we had a falling out.  My ‘brother’ and I disagreed and I took my leave of his family.”

 

“What ‘brother’?  What the _hell_ are you talking about?”  Zack wanted to tear his hair out with frustration.  Whatever Deepground did to fix Genesis’s decomposition clearly didn’t fix his addled brain as well.

 

“Weiss,” answered the redhead.  “He was the one who delivered me from death, so I returned the favor.  Unfortunately, the influence of a mad scientist took a toll on his mind.  He’s out to rid the world of humanity, now.”

 

Zack absorbed this thoughtfully.  He had no idea who “Weiss” was but he assumed he was a member of Deepground.  “So this ‘Weiss’ character cured you and you saved his life, right?”

 

Genesis nodded.

 

“And now he’s batshit crazy and trying to drive humans into extinction?” persisted the former Soldier.

 

“That’s the gist of it, yes,” Genesis agreed.  He studied Zack carefully and added; “It really _is_ you, isn’t it?  You aren’t just a copy…you’re actually Zack.”

 

“Yeah, I had a little help getting back,” the black-haired fighter alluded.  “So anyhow, who’s this ‘mad scientist’ you’re talking about?  Hollander?”

 

“No.  Hojo.”  Genesis sneered the name and Zack impulsively shivered.  “He…possessed Weiss, for lack of a better word.  He’s gone now but his presence left lingering trauma in its wake.”  He looked down at the ongoing battle and nodded.  “Those people you’re fighting?  They truly believe in what they’re doing.  There’s no opponent so dangerous as one that wholeheartedly embraces the belief that he or she is right.”

 

“Tell me something I _don’t_ know,” Zack sighed.  “So whose side are you on, now?”  He noticed that Genesis was wearing the exact same style of clothing he’d last seen him in, but the material was new.  Black leather pants, boots and body armor with a red coat and gloves.  He even wielded the same red sword that Zack remembered, holding it casually by the hilt in his right hand.

 

“I’m not on _anyone’s_ side,” Genesis informed him.  “Nobody’s given me a reason to be.”

 

Zack resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  “Well, how about this for a reason to be on _our_ side: Deepground’s full of crazy people.”

 

Genesis smirked at him.  “If it weren’t for those _crazy people_ , neither you nor I would be standing here right now.  I don’t begrudge you the right to oppose them, but you do owe them your life…as do I.”

 

“Hah…just barely,” Zack muttered.  “They tried to blow me up.  My friends found me in Deepground’s old Midgar base and there was a nice little bomb set to go off.  Maybe they didn’t want anyone getting their hands on their research or maybe they just figured my body served its purpose and could be junked, but there you have it.”

 

“I know about the attempted bomb,” Genesis shrugged.  “I was the one that set it.”

 

Zack stared at him.  “Why?” he sputtered, reaching for his sword.

 

“You and I aren’t going to fight,” the redhead stated calmly.  “The bomb was a dud.  Of course, Deepground didn’t know that but at the time I was ambiguous of their plans and I staged it to appear otherwise.  Had your people failed to stop the countdown, the only thing you or they would have suffered would have been a puff of air.  I had no intention of blowing you up but it was what Weiss wanted, to protect the data.”

 

Zack relaxed a little.  “Huh.  O…kay…so, you’re not on _their_ side and you’re not on _our_ side.  What exactly do you want?”

 

 “I think you have bigger concerns than what I want.”  Genesis nodded toward the fighting, calling attention to the fact that one of the ShinRa choppers was deliberately drawing fire from the Deepground forces.  By the maneuvering skill, Zack guessed that the pilot must be Reno but he had his doubts that the redhead could evade the volley of missiles coming at him forever.

 

“Oh, damn,” the fighter groaned.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

“Would you look at _these_ crazy sons-a-bitches?” Cid muttered to himself.  He watched as the black helicopter zigged and zagged through the air, directly over the bulk of the Deepground forces.  Whoever was piloting it had to be out of his mind or equipped with balls of steel.  The gamble was paying off and the majority of the rocket fire from the ground was aimed at the weaving chopper, buying some time and opportunity for the rest of the air team to move in and deploy their own missiles at the enemy.

 

Cid didn’t question the bold move.  He figured whoever was flying that bird was as good as dead and he wasn’t going to let their sacrifice be for nothing.  He closed in with his ship, cutting loose with her firepower at the Deepground forces below.  He was almost startled silly when a familiar, horned elemental appeared on the field and hit the enemy ranks with a wall of flames.

 

“Someone on our side’s got some summon materia,” he muttered, understanding where the creature had come from.  Ifreet was a nice choice, actually.  The flames of his attack exploded some of the Deepground missile launchers and caused rockets to go off amongst their own ranks.

 

Cid added to that fire by dropping a few bombs and firing some of his bigger missiles.

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

“Smart move, eh?” Cait Sith shouted with pride as the summons spell ended.  “Now they’re good and scattered!”

 

Indeed, the combined attacks from the air teams and the cat’s Ifreet summons had broken up the ranks of the enemy, enough for the ground teams to move in.  The Deepground army was still massive but they were no longer so organized.

 

Rufus Shinra’s voice spoke over the comm. system, confirming the attack.  “All ground units, move in.  Air teams pull back.  Reno, get _out_ of there.”

 

“Your boyfriend’s crazy,” Yuffie said to Cloud as she hopped on her hoverboard and readied her deadly shuriken.  “And I thought _I_ was reckless!”  She sped off then, going into battle behind Vincent and Cait Sith.  Barret and Tifa followed but before Cloud could kick Fenrir into gear to do the same, there was a dreadful sound of rending metal overhead.  He looked up to see Reno’s chopper get hit in the tail by one of the missiles and his heart lurched in his throat as it began to spin, trailing smoke.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Fuck, we’re going down, big guy!”  Reno did his best to exercise some control over their descent but they were inevitably heading towards a thick mass of alpine forest.  “I can try to make it a soft landing but ya might wanna get those parachutes ready!”

 

“I’m on it,” Rude said, struggling to reach the packaged chutes overhead without unbuckling his harness.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

Zack stared at the spectacle as Reno’s chopper was hit and started spinning out of control.  “Oh, _shit_!”  He turned to Genesis with a desperate expression on his face.  “Help me get them!”

 

Genesis didn’t move and the black-haired fighter cursed and took a running leap off the cliff, soaring towards the crippled helicopter as fast as he could.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

“We’ve got a problem,” Rude said.  He held out the torn parachute package for his partner’s inspection.  The hit must have damaged it.  With any luck, Reno’s was still okay but they’d have to double-up on it.

 

“Oh, for fuck’s _sake_ ,” groaned the redhead.  “Why can’t we ever have a _normal_ fight together?”  He reached up with one hand for his parachute, struggling to pull it out of its compartment while keeping his other hand on the stick.  He yelped when a pale face appeared outside the window of his door and it took him a second to recognize Zack.  The door was pulled open and Reno swore again as he was buffeted by the wind.

 

“Come on!” Zack yelled, reaching in.

 

“You can’t carry both of us!” Reno shouted back.  Strong as Zack was, Rude was still bigger than him and the attempt to carry them both to safety was about as likely to succeed as the possibility of Rude floating down safely with his torn parachute.

 

“I’m sure as hell going to try,” Zack argued grimly.

 

Rude’s door was yanked open at that moment and the bald man stared at an auburn-haired man who sported a single black wing on his back.  He recognized him and his mouth fell open.  “Where the hell did _you_ come from?” the dark-skinned Turk muttered.

 

Zack was relieved.  “It’s okay, you can trust him.  Go with him, Rude!”

 

“I don’t know about that,” the bald man protested.  He looked down at the rapidly approaching ground and shrugged, his decision made easier by the alternative of becoming a splat on the earth.  Zack helped Reno out of his harness and Genesis did the same for Rude.  The Turks clung to their rescuers tightly as Genesis and Zack pulled them out of the spinning chopper and flew away.

 

Reno twisted in Zack’s arms, watching his partner get carried off in the distance.  “What the fuck is Genesis doing here, man?  Thought he was dead!”  His helicopter hit the ground a moment after he asked the question and instead of answering, Zack hissed a curse and banked sharply as shrapnel flew.

 

Something hit them.  Reno was unharmed but he heard Zack’s cry of pain and he stared with round eyes as the fighter’s right wing buckled alarmingly.  A heavy piece of metal fell to the earth and he guessed it was what struck Zack’s wing.  He was falling again, this time with a human bird rather than a mechanical one.  There was nothing Reno could do as he looked at Zack’s strained face.  The fighter clenched his teeth stubbornly and flapped his wings, despite the obvious agony it caused him.

 

“I’m not gonna let us crash,” Zack growled, catching the wind currents and steering as well as he could.  His wing was broken…he felt the bones scraping together as he fought to carry Reno safely back to the ground.  The pain was so intense he was afraid he’d black out and he blinked away black spots and narrowed his eyes grimly, aiming for a snowy slope leading out of Icicle to the north.  He was vaguely surprised that they’d managed to get this far away from the action but given the chaotic descent through the air, it made some sense.

 

“Hold tight,” Zack ordered in a pain-roughened voice.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud saw the entire thing and he sped off on Fenrir as soon as he realized that Zack and Reno were in trouble.  Rude’s mysterious rescuer carried him back toward the main concentration of fighters and deposited him on the ground before flying off again.  Cloud watched Zack’s broken flight pattern, mentally reviewing what he remembered of the land layout.  He wasn’t going to be able to follow his lovers on Fenrir, the way they were going down.  They were heading right for the slopes.  Cloud kicked up the speed of his bike and tore into Icicle, coming to a reckless stop in the center of town.  The WRO had already cleaned up the bodies of the deceased civilians and Reeve hurried over to him as soon as he dismounted his bike.

 

“I need a snowboard,” Cloud panted, “Or a hoverboard…anything!” 

 

Zack and Reno had already flown overhead and he could hear the redhead’s cursing and Zack’s groans of pain growing fainter in the distance as their trajectory took them over the slopes.

 

“Cloud, there’s a fight going on!” Reeve exclaimed.

 

“Zack and Reno are in trouble!” cried the blonde.  “Don’t argue with me, just get what I’m asking for!”

 

One of the organization members heard him and he hurried over and grabbed Cloud’s arm.   “There’s a supply unit by the Inn,” he said as he drew the fighter with him.  “You should find a hoverboard inside!”

 

Reeve stared into the distance, only now noticing the spectacle of Zack Fair doing his best to carry Reno to the ground without crashing.  “They’re heading for a pretty steep drop,” he announced worriedly.

 

“I know!” Cloud yelled impatiently as he climbed into the back of the supply transport and searched.  He found what he was after and he breathed a sigh of relief.  He grabbed a medical kit and strapped it to his back over his sword.  Once he had that done, the blonde grabbed the hoverboard and ran for the end of town.  Reeve and a couple of other WRO members followed him.

 

“Cloud, you’re probably not going to get any reception down there,” Reeve warned as the blonde dropped his hoverboard to the ground and jumped on it.  “How will you call for help when you find them?”

 

“I’ll worry about that after I find them!”  Cloud didn’t stick around to argue.  He jumped on the hoverboard and started off, keeping on eye on the sky as he skied down the slopes after his lovers.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

At first, Zack thought he was imagining things.  His pain-fogged mind registered the sound of Cloud’s voice, yelling up at him from somewhere below.  He didn’t know how far down the slopes he’d drifted but it seemed like it was just getting steeper and steeper.  Reno confirmed that he wasn’t just imagining the sound of Cloud’s voice.

 

“Cloud’s down there, man!  He’s pacing us on one of those hoverboards the WRO uses!”  Reno could only adjust his position so much because of the risk of throwing Zack further off balance than he already was.  He craned his neck and saw his blond lover several feet below on the slope, hollering at them through his mask.

 

Zack looked down and saw him too.  “Cloud?” he called raggedly.

 

“Go right!” the blonde shouted.  “Left just gets steeper!”

 

Zack did his best to comply, groaning helplessly as agony flared through his broken wing.  He held his flight for perhaps another twenty feet before his strength gave.  The ground was rushing up to meet him and all he could think was: _~Thank Gaia we’re landing in snow.~_  He hit the ground rolling, losing his hold on Reno.  The redhead didn’t roll far and Zack didn’t even try to lift his head when he came to a stop with his face in the snow.

Cloud hopped off of the ski trail and stumbled through the snow towards his fallen lovers, calling out to both of them.  Reno struggled to his feet with a groan, clutching his head.  He tore the mask off his face and embraced Cloud when the blonde closed the distance. 

 

“I think Wolfy’s in real bad shape,” Reno warned, stumbling against Cloud’s body.  “Go check on him…I’m okay.”

 

Cloud hurried over to Zack and started to roll him over.  The black-haired fighter cried out when his right wing was pressed against the snowy ground and Cloud looked at it and saw that the humerus bone was broken. 

 

“Okay, it’s all right,” he soothed gently, brushing Zack’s tangled hair out of his eyes.  He spoke to him like he was a frightened animal, seeing the shock dilating his pupils.  He pulled the mask off of Zack’s face and looked around, trying to get his bearings.  “We can’t stay here, Zack,” he said.  “Do you think you can walk if Reno and I help you?”

 

Zack nodded and clenched his teeth, allowing the blonde to help him sit up.  A bare whimper escaped his lips despite his effort to stay quiet as his injured wing shifted.  Reno was quickly at Cloud’s side, helping him pull Zack to his feet.

 

“There’s a cabin not far from here, if I’m remembering right,” Cloud said to his lovers.  “We need to get Zack there so I can look at his wing.”

 

“Don’t think you can do much about it,” Zack panted.

 

“I used to raise chocobos,” the blonde reminded him with a forced smile.  “I know how bird wings work and I’ve got a Cure materia on me.  The hardest part is going to be setting the bone before I use it.”

 

“I forgot about your chocobos,” Zack laughed, then winced as the movement made pain shoot through his wing.  “Let’s hope your bird knowledge does some good, Sunshine.”

 

Reno supported Zack on the left while Cloud supported him on the right.  They started off, relying on Cloud’s memory to guide them to the cabin. 

 

“Hey, do you know if Rude made it okay?” Reno asked after a moment, concern for his partner breaking through his worry over their predicament.

 

“I saw him carried down by that other winged guy,” Cloud assured him.  “Who was that, by the way?”

 

“Genesis,” both Zack and Reno answered at the same time.

 

Cloud stopped and stared at them.  “Really?”

 

“Yeah, it was him all right,” Reno nodded.  “I’m not clear on what he’s doing here but he helped Zack get us out of the chopper before it went down.  I was a little worried about whether he carried Rude to the ground or dropped him, though.  Last time I saw the guy he was a head-case, yo.”

 

“He’s still not all there,” Zack said.  “He said something about Deepground stopping his deterioration and some guy named Weiss and a lot of other crap I couldn’t understand.”  He shuddered with both pain and cold and his two companions held him more tightly.  “Doesn’t seem like he’s siding with the bad guys but I don’t know if he’s keen on helping us out, either.”

 

“We’ll worry about that later,” Cloud insisted. 

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

A couple of hours and some backtracking later, they arrived at the cabin near the foot of Gaea’s Cliff.  The windows were boarded and there was no light coming from inside, suggesting that the place was abandoned.

 

“Mr. Holzoff?  Are you there?”  Cloud knocked on the door and worried his lower lip.  The temperature was dropping with the setting sun and Zack was shivering violently.  Reno wasn’t doing much better, with his meager blazer protecting him from the elements.  Why the redhead hadn’t worn something more appropriate for the climate was a mystery to Cloud.

 

“Doesn’t look like anyone lives here anymore, man,” Reno said through chattering teeth.

 

“I guess not.”  Cloud eased Zack and Reno to the wall by the door.  “Hold him up for me while I break the door in.”

 

Reno did his best to hold the heavier man up but the cabin wall gave Zack better support than the Turk’s slim body.  “You still with us, Fair?” the redhead murmured.

 

Zack nodded mutely…which didn’t sit well with Reno.  Usually the black-haired fighter had some kind of lighthearted comment or snappy comeback but now his lips were colorless and pressed together in a line of pain.

 

Cloud threw himself bodily at the door a few times before he broke the beam holding it shut from inside.  The blonde stumbled into the abandoned cabin, nearly falling on his face before he caught his balance.  He came out and helped Reno bring Zack in, directing their steps to the bedroom in the back.  Thankfully the place was still furnished and he’d spotted stacks of firewood outside at the side of the cabin.

 

“I think the owner’s just away on vacation or something,” Cloud guessed.  “I’m going to have to leave him some gil and a note apologizing about breaking in.”

 

“One thing at a time, Blondie,” grunted Reno as they laid Zack onto his left side on the bed.  “We need warmth and some light, yo.”

 

“Give me your lighter,” Cloud said.  He was sure there were matches or a lighter somewhere in the house but he wanted to look at Zack’s wing right away.  Reno fished the item out of a pocket and handed it to him and Cloud lit the bedside lantern before removing the medical kit strapped to his back.

 

“Reno, why don’t you check the house for liquor and try to get the fireplace going while I see to this?” Cloud suggested.  “If you can find a bowl and get the tap running, some water would be good, too.”

 

“I’m on it,” agreed the Turk.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued  


	20. Chapter 20

“Alliance”

Chapter 20

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud carefully took hold of Zack’s broken wing and very slowly extended it.  Zack groaned in pain and the blonde bit his lip and looked at him with aching blue eyes.

 

“Sorry.  I know it hurts but I need you to hold it together for me, Zack.”

 

The sable-haired fighter nodded and took a deep breath.  Reno crouched at the other side of the bed and stroked Zack’s hair, soothing him the only way he could.  The redhead watched his blonde lover gently feel along the span of the wing to determine where it was broken.

 

“I’ve found it,” Cloud murmured, his eyes distant as he concentrated.  “Reno, you’re going to have to hold him still while I set this.  As soon as it’s set I’m going to cast a Curaga spell on him to mend it.”

 

The Turk looked at Zack dubiously.  “I’ll try, but I’m not even sure Rude could hold this guy down.”

 

“Just put your back into it,” Cloud encouraged.  “Zack, try your best to hold still, okay?”

 

“Hold it a second,” Reno urged.  He stood up and undid his belt, tugging it out of his pant loops and rolling it up.  “Here, Wolfy.  Bite down on this.”

 

 Zack allowed the Turk to fit the rolled up belt between his teeth and Reno sprawled out on top of him, pressing down with his entire body to hold him still.  The redhead gave a nod to Cloud and the blonde took a deep breath and counted to three.  He pulled on the wing he gripped and fitted the broken bone together firmly, as quickly as he could. 

 

Zack’s distorted scream of pain made both of his companions wince in sympathy and Cloud wasted no time in activating the cure materia he had equipped.  Zack held relatively still and Reno was pretty sure he hadn’t been much help with that.  The black-haired fighter trembled as the green glow of Cloud’s spell covered his wing.

 

“There ya go,” Reno soothed, stroking Zack’s hair as the spell did its work.  “You’re a tough bastard, that’s for sure.”

 

Zack shut his eyes and sighed with relief as the bone mended and the pain lessened.  He felt as weak as a kitten, as if all his strength had gone into holding still for Cloud.  The blonde got something out of the medical kit and Reno took the belt out of Zack’s mouth.  The redhead held a glass of water to Zack’s lips while Cloud handed a couple of aspirin to him.

 

“Down the hatch,” Reno prompted.  “Gotta break that fever of yours and materia ain’t gonna do it.”

 

Zack struggled to sit up, his arms shaking with the effort.  Cloud helped him and steadied him while he put the tablets in his mouth and took the glass of water from Reno.  The Turk saw how much his hands shook and he steadied the glass for him, helping him drink.  When he finished swallowing the pills, Zack drew his wings back in with a groan. 

 

“Shouldn’t have done that,” the fighter panted as the action cost him the last of his energy.

 

“Should he be this weak?” Reno whispered to Cloud as they helped Zack lay back down and he lost consciousness almost immediately.  He thought it was odd how a man that had carried him so far with a broken wing was now trembling like a newborn and passed out. 

 

“He’s worn out and feverish,” Cloud said.  “He needs rest.”  The blonde looked at the boarded window, noting how the light coming in through one of the cracks was growing dimmer.  “We’re going to need food.  I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get help and I’m not going to try to move Zack until he’s got his strength back.”

 

“Well, good luck with the food, yo.”  Reno said sourly.  “When I checked the cabinets all I found was some crackers that went to funk.”

 

“I’ll go hunting,” Cloud said.

 

“In this?” Reno sputtered.  “Alone?”

 

“Someone’s got to watch over Zack and you don’t know how to hunt.”  Cloud insisted.

 

Reno sighed.  “Okay, then.  I’m just kind of worried, man.  I heard Zack say over the comm. unit that he breathed in some of that shit from the canisters they were chucking at us.  What if that’s got something to do with his fever?”

 

Cloud swallowed and looked down at his unconscious lover, reaching out impulsively to stroke his hot cheek.  He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  He should have gotten checked out right away but he blew it off.  All we can do now is try to break his fever and keep an eye on him.  Help me get him out of these wet clothes, will you?”

 

“Are we like, taking them _all_ off?” Reno asked as he started unfastening Zack’s scabbard and body armor.  “Don’t think Zack’d be too thrilled to wake up starkers with me alone with him.  You want him to feel safe, right?”

 

Cloud smirked.  “Zack’s not shy.  I don’t think he’ll care and I know even _you’ve_ got enough self-control not to molest a sick person.  Besides, we can leave him in his underwear.  They’re probably dry enough.”

 

“You sure he’s even wearing any?”  Reno asked in all seriousness. 

 

Cloud nodded and bit his lip.  “He’d probably be uncomfortable if he went without it.”

 

“Oh-ho!  So I was right…your boy’s hung nice, eh?” Reno grinned.  Rude refused to go commando too, on the grounds that he needed something to hold his junk.

 

“Now’s really not the time to talk about that,” Cloud muttered.  “We’re not doing this to perv on him.”

 

“Maybe _you’re_ not,” teased the redhead.  When Cloud sighed, he let up.  “Sorry Blondie…I guess I’m just trying to lighten the mood a little.  We’re up shit creek without a paddle and I know you’re worried about Zack.”  He pulled the scabbard and shoulder guards off and set them on the floor.

 

Cloud unzipped Zack’s shirt and pulled it open.  “It’s okay.  Just promise me you’ll take care of him for me.”

 

“You know I will,” Reno said seriously.  He helped Cloud roll Zack onto his side so that they could pull the shirt off.  The boots and socks came off next, followed by the pants.  Reno tried not to stare at Zack’s body but it was bloody hard to resist, with him lying there in nothing but a pair of dark blue boxer briefs. 

 

“Reno,” Cloud grumbled when the redhead’s blue-green eyes fixated on Zack’s endowments.  He tried to keep his tone annoyed but he started grinning before he could help it, amused by Reno’s helpless fascination. 

 

“Uh…yeah…sorry about that,” Reno muttered, clearing his throat.

 

_~Oh yeah…Wolfy’s got a nice, big set on him.  Shit, what a time to start getting a hard-on!~_

“Are you blushing?”

 

Reno shook his head and averted his face.  “Why would I do that, Blondie?  Ya know I’ve got no shame.”

 

“You are!”  Cloud peered at Reno with a little smile. 

 

“Okay, I’m blushing ‘cause I’m getting a stiffy,” the redhead snapped.  “And I knew if you noticed it you’d get pissed, all right?”

 

Cloud sobered.  “No I wouldn’t.  Sometimes it just happens.”

 

Reno looked at him suspiciously.  “You’re not mad?  I mean, I was just giving your boy here a good eye-fuck when it happened.”

 

“Do you _want_ me to be mad about it?” Cloud crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“No, but I’m surprised you aren’t.  No offense babe, but you can be a real prude sometimes.”

 

“I know,” Cloud admitted.  “Don’t worry about it, okay?  Like I said, I know you won’t do anything to him without his consent.”  He pulled the covers up to Zack’s shoulders and tucked him in.  “I’m going to try not to be too long but it might take a few hours for me to catch anything.”

 

“Just watch yourself,” Reno said, “and while you’re out there, see if you can get any reception to call for someone to come get us.”  He gave Cloud a lingering kiss before the blonde got up and left.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

Hours passed and it grew dark outside.  Reno kept checking Zack’s temperature and he sighed in relief when the other man broke into a sweat.

 

“Fever’s broken, Bird boy,” the Turk said as he dabbed Zack’s face with the wet cloth he kept in a bowl of water by the bed.  “Now we just need Cloud to get his tight little ass back and for you to wake up.”

 

He wondered how the others were fairing against Deepground and he wondered where Genesis flew off to.  He knew that they’d send out search parties to look for them but that likely wasn’t going to happen until morning, when they’d have some light.  That was, assuming they didn’t get overwhelmed by the enemy.

 

He tried not to think about that possibility.  Deepground might have some genetic freaks and fancy moves but his team was full of trained professionals.  Of course, with two of the strongest fighters out of the picture now, the alliance didn’t have as much of an advantage. 

 

“Damn, I hope Cloud’s okay,” Reno sighed.  He stood up and walked out of the bedroom, moving back into the main part of the house to poke at the fireplace.  Hell, if nothing else the smoke from the chimney should act as a pretty good beacon for the search parties.  Reno wondered if the cabin owner had any emergency flares stashed somewhere.  If the guy was a mountain climber, he probably did. Deciding it would keep his thoughts occupied, the redhead began to search the house.

 

  In the bedroom, Zack began to wake up.  His thoughts were a confused jumble and the only thing that was clear to him was that he’d been fighting…and he wanted to fight some more.  He sniffed the air and growled low in his throat as he picked up the lingering scent of cinnamon and cloves.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud was dragging his prize back to the cabin when he realized someone was watching him.  He looked up at the cold, clear night sky, obeying his instincts.  There was Genesis, standing on one of the thicker branches of a bare tree.  Cloud dropped the hooves of the small deer he was dragging and reached for his weapon.

 

“If I wanted to attack you,” Genesis informed him, “I’d have already done it.”

 

“Then what do you want?” Cloud demanded, keeping his eyes narrowed on him.

 

Genesis came down from the tree, landing lightly on the snowy ground.  “I wanted to find you,” he said calmly.  “It would have been a waste for you and your companions to die in the wilderness.  Call it curiosity.  I was interested to see if you all made it.”

 

“Well, now you know,” said Cloud.  “Unless your planning to give us a hand, I don’t have time to talk to you.”  The blonde began to drag his kill again, keeping his sword ready in case Genesis decided to attack after all.

 

“I have information.”

 

Cloud stopped and looked at him.  “What kind of information?”

 

“About the gas weapon that Deepground is using against civilians and your army.  It was clever of your people to wear those masks, but they sometimes slip, don’t they?”

 

Cloud thought about Zack and closed his eyes.  “How much does it take for the gas to start changing someone?”

 

“Not long,” Genesis explained, “but the effect it has differs from one person to the next, depending on genetics.  It’s immediately deadly to some, while it triggers mutations in others.  Sometimes it causes the mutations and kills them at the same time.  Still others only experience temporary behavioral changes.  Their ability to reason gets compromised and they are reduced to a primal state until it wears off.  Some are naturally immune and suffer no ill effects at all.”

 

“What about someone who’s already got a mutation?” Cloud asked.

 

“It won’t trigger further mutations, but it can still kill them or effect their behavior.”

 

“So why isn’t anyone in Deepground using gas masks when they use this stuff against other people?”  Cloud couldn’t believe they were crazy enough to risk getting the business end of their own weapon.

 

“Vaccination,” Genesis answered simply. 

 

“Figures,” Cloud grumbled.  He continued dragging the carcass and Genesis followed him.  He wasn’t as worried about Zack now as he was before.  His lover hadn’t shown any of the symptoms Genesis described, but he still wanted to get back to him and check on him to be sure. 

 

“I don’t suppose you’ve got the formula for this vaccination of theirs, do you?”  Cloud highly doubted it but he was trying to figure out what Genesis’s motivation was.

 

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

 

Cloud stopped again and stared at him.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

Reno found flares and a flare gun, too.  He took the box out of the closet and carried it back into the main room, intending to fire a couple outside just in case Cloud needed some help finding the cabin again.  He yelped out loud and almost dropped the box when he found Zack standing on the opposite side of the room, near the short hallway that led to the bedroom and bathroom.

 

“Cripes, I take back what I said about you and stealth, Zack!”  Reno gasped as he set the box down on the floor.  “I didn’t hear you get up.  You’ve made a helluva fast recovery.  You sure you’re okay to be out of bed?”  He studied the fighter with concern.  He looked okay…he didn’t seem to have any trouble standing and his wings were out again.  There was something off about the _way_ he was standing, though…not to mention the way he was looking at Reno.  There was also the fact that he was still in his underwear and he didn’t seem to notice his lack of dress at all.    

 

“Cloud said you weren’t shy but I figured you’d at least ask where your clothes went,” Reno smirked.  He started to tell him that his clothes were hanging in the kitchen to dry but he was unsettled.  His smirk died as Zack stared at him wordlessly.  There was something decidedly unfriendly in that lupine, blue-violet gaze and Reno was prompted to recall how much Zack reminded him of a wolf in human form. 

 

“Okay, I think someone got outta bed too soon,” Reno said.  He didn’t like the way Zack was moving towards the door and he inched over to it, putting it to his back.  “Where do you think you’re going, man?  I can’t let you go out there like that!  Especially after I just got your fever broken.” 

 

Reno frowned with confused amazement as he noticed something else: Zack was entering a state of arousal right before his eyes.  Reno tried not to stare but the sight of that tempting bulge in Zack’s underwear growing more pronounced by the moment was mesmerizing.

 

“Uh…so yeah…can’t let you out the door, man.  Sorry.  I could open that bottle of scotch I found earlier and we could—WHOA!” 

 

Zack lunged for him and put both palms flat on the door, on either side of Reno’s head.  The Turk stared with wide eyes as the fighter’s lip curled.

 

“Yo, did you just _growl_ at me, Fair?” Reno gasped.  It wasn’t the sort of growl he’d associate with playfulness or sex, either.  It was animal-like and feral.

 

_~Shit…this could be bad.  Did the gas do this to him?  Is he gonna sprout a tail and a set of fluffy wolf ears, next?~_

“Take it easy, baby,” Reno said softly, in his most persuasive, seductive tone of voice.  “Why dontcha just tell me what you’re after, okay?”

 

Zack was breathing heavily, his eyes flashing with two kinds of lust.  He looked Reno over, his gaze settling on his throat.

 

“Come on, Zack,” Reno swallowed, “Ya don’t wanna attack me.”  He remembered the way the fighter had bitten Cissnei’s rapist on the throat and he had a terrible feeling he might be next.

 

The black-haired man gave a start and looked at him with a trace of confusion on his handsome features.  Reno guessed it was a reaction to hearing his name and he spoke it again.

 

“That’s right, Zack.  You’re still in there somewhere, right?”  Reno dared to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder.  Zack looked down at it, then back at him.  He growled softly and Reno considered the erection he was sporting between his thighs. He had to keep him from running out the door until Cloud got back and they could work out what happened to him.  Sex was one way to keep him busy, though he wasn’t sure what Blondie would think of him using that as a distraction when Zack wasn’t in his right mind.

 

“So let me guess,” Reno said.  “You either wanna fight your you wanna fuck.  Is that it?”  He slowly let his hand slide down over the hard muscles of Zack’s chest and stomach and he lowered his eyes, remembering something about wolves and eye contact.  He had no problem at all letting Zack be the alpha male here…especially since his weapons weren’t on him at the moment and the man could probably snap him like a twig if he got the chance. 

 

Reno traced the treasure trail of dark hair that started below Zack’s navel and he tensed a little when the sable-haired fighter nuzzled his neck, sniffing at him.  Zack’s hands moved from the door to Reno’s shoulders and he nuzzled the exposed part of his chest next, his hands pulling at the material of the shirt to bare more of his skin.

 

Reno was swelling in his pants too by the time he mustered the nerve to cup Zack between the legs and fondle his package.  Zack pulled back to look at him and the aggression in his eyes softened into something else.  He licked his lips and pushed against Reno’s stroking hand.

 

“Yeah, that’s what you want, isn’t it baby?  You don’t wanna go running out in the snow.  Let’s just forget about that idea and have a little fun here, yo.”  Reno knew he was probably making a stupid move by coming onto a guy that was acting like an animal; especially when he wasn’t sure what was causing his behavior.  Zack could really tear him up if he wasn’t careful.  On the plus side, this had the potential to be one of the best fucks on record, too.  He saw the tip of Zack’s cock peeking out of the waistline of his underwear as it swelled fully erect and Reno smiled, unable to resist temptation.

 

Zack’s breath caught as Reno circled the exposed head of his cock with the pad of his finger, rubbing the sensitive slit in the tip with slow, gentle circles.  The redhead risked a look into his eyes and saw the dazed pleasure there. 

 

“How about a lick, wolfy?” Reno purred.  While a voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like his partner’s asked him what the fuck he was doing, Reno took another risk and licked Zack’s chin slowly.  When the fighter didn’t try to bite his tongue off, he did it again, then licked him on his parted, gasping lips.  He traced them with his tongue before gently  
delving into his mouth.  He pushed his hand into the fighter’s underwear and squeezed the impressive length of his cock, moaning softly as his lust flared brighter.

 

Zack growled again, but this time Reno could tell it was a _good_ kind of growl.  Reno broke the kiss to murmur more seductive words to him.  “You like the way I’m petting ya, Wolfy?  Feel good?”  Gaia, he might as well be a bitch in heat, he was so horny.  Reno began to unconsciously rub his own straining crotch against one of Zack’s naked thigh as the fighter pressed him against the door and started kissing his neck.  He held back a yelp when he felt Zack’s teeth nip his skin.  As hot as this was, he still had to be careful and he hoped to hell Zack’s current state of mind wasn’t permanent.   

 

Reno was being dragged to the floor then and he realized with a moment of panic that he had to at least get him and Zack lubed up before it went too far.  He knew from experience that a cock that size needed to be good and lubed to fit without serious pain. 

 

“Easy baby,” Reno said gently as he started searching through his pockets.  “Fuck…where’d I put the junk?” 

 

Zack growled aggressively again and Reno licked him on the jaw quickly, hoping to appease him long enough to get the damned lube out.  “It’s okay,” he assured Zack as calmly as he could.  “I’m not fighting ya, Wolfy.  I just want to get ready for ya, okay?”  He tactfully reached down to fondle the man that was moving restlessly on top of him.  “Shhh, easy.  Yeah, that’s it,” he encouraged.  His other hand kept searching his pockets as he distracted Zack with a hand job. 

 

“Thank Shiva,” Reno breathed when he found one of the gel packs he was looking for.  He realized then that poor Zack seemed to have forgotten how to remove clothes along with how to speak or use human reasoning.  The fighter was pulling at Reno’s shirt with his teeth, worrying the material with frustrated little snarls.

 

“Take it easy,” Reno murmured, trying not to laugh.  “Sheesh, no wonder your pal Angeal used to call you a ‘puppy’ all the time.  Here, lemme take care of that for ya.”

 

Reno shrugged out of his ruined shirt and threw it aside.  He almost went straight for his pants next but something warned him not to make himself that vulnerable until he’d at least lubed up Zack’s cock.  “Hold on a minute, baby,” Reno purred as he tugged Zack’s underwear down over his hips.  “You’ll like this.  Trust me.”  He kissed him and snapped open the lubricant, squeezing it out into his palm.  This time, Zack kissed him back and the fighter stopped growling as if he understood he was going to get what he wanted.

 

Reno reached down and started slicking the lube over Zack’s jutting cock.  He let the other man’s tongue into his mouth and he sucked on it as he stroked up and down his rigid flesh.  Zack made a primal sound of pleasure and instinctively pumped into the touch, his breath quickening with excitement. 

 

When Reno was satisfied that his companion was lubed enough to slide in without too much trouble, he undid his pants and pulled them off.  His earlier instincts paid off big time because as soon as Zack realized there was no longer a barrier of clothing between himself and his goal, he grabbed Reno and flipped him onto his stomach.

 

“Oh shit,” Reno gasped as he felt Zack’s hands grab his hips and position his ass in the air.  He barely had time to get to his hands and knees before the other man’s cock nudged into his body.  The redhead moaned and clenched his fists, forcing his body to relax and accept the intrusion.  To his surprised relief, Zack didn’t just drive all the way in and start going to town on him right away.  Some part of him must have retained enough logic to ease it in slowly. 

 

“Thanks, Zack,” Reno sighed with sincere gratitude.  Another moan burst from his lips as the next push made it go a little deeper.  Zack withdrew again and bowed over him before easing in again.  His breath was hot and heavy against Reno’s ear as he slowly and steadily pumped until he could enter him completely without making him cry out in pain. 

 

Zack’s next thrust let Reno know in no uncertain terms that now that he’d adjusted, he was in for a hell of a ride.  The man drove into him hard and deep, nearly pushing Reno back onto his face on the floor.  He did it again as soon as he withdrew and Reno shouted with aching pleasure as Zack started taking him with hard, forceful thrusts. 

 

“Zack…baby,” Reno panted, his eyes glazing over.  Oh, yes…a good, hard fuck was just what he needed and Zack was giving that to him in spades.  Each snap of the black-haired man’s pelvis sent a burst of sensation through Reno’s dick and spine.  The thick girth of his cock put heavy pressure on just the right spot as it slid back and forth inside of him and before long, Reno was biting his lip and flushed with ecstasy. 

 

He knew Zack would be just as good at the hard fucking as Blondie and Rufus were, and he briefly wondered how quickly he’d end up in a wheelchair for life if he ever had Cloud, Rufus and Zack take turns on him all night long.

Reno’s moans seemed to make Zack happy, because every time he came out with one the black-haired man nuzzled his neck, as if rewarding him.  His hand reached down and under to grasp the redhead’s cock and stroke it, prompting Reno to wriggle his ass and whimper gratefully.  The redhead matched Zack’s thrusts, pushing back against him encouragingly.  He felt Zack’s other hand leave his hip and the next thing he knew, it was holding onto his ponytail and tugging it firmly.  Reno tilted his head back obediently and Zack’s mouth covered his in an aggressive kiss.  He felt the ex-Soldier’s wings fanning the air slowly and it only made everything more erotic.

 

Reno was quickly losing control and his muffled cries grew louder and louder against Zack’s lips as the other man’s thrusting and fondling started driving him over the edge.  Zack released his mouth and let go of his ponytail to grasp one of his hips again and Reno bowed his head and moaned the fighter’s name.  His breath shuddered and he tensed up as he came in Zack’s stroking hand with the next powerful shove of his cock. 

 

Zack groaned—the first human sounding noise he’d made since Reno found him awake.  His cock pulsed inside of the redhead and he filled him with his release, gasping and trembling.  Both men collapsed on the floor after that and Reno became aware after a moment or two that Zack was quite heavy. 

 

“Hey Wolfy, you’re smushing me a little,” Reno murmured breathlessly.  He squirmed beneath the heavier man and sucked in a sharp breath when the movement made Zack’s sated cock shift inside of him.  “I’m gonna start getting turned on again and I’ve still got to shoot a flare for Cloud,” Reno pleaded.

 

Whether he comprehended the words or the tone of voice, Zack rolled slowly off of him and lay on his side, kicking his underwear the rest of the way off as he reclined.  Reno also rolled on his side and faced him, studying him for a moment.  Zack looked slightly confused and Reno thought he saw a bit more comprehension in his gaze. 

 

He glanced down and realized he probably shouldn’t pull Zack’s underwear back up for him until he could get him cleaned up.  Getting the fighter to cooperate with him was likely going to be a chore, too.

 

“Are you starting to feel more like yourself, baby?” the redhead murmured.

 

Zack lowered his eyes, appearing to struggle inwardly.

 

“It’s okay if ya can’t answer out lout right now,” Reno said.  “Why don’t we get you back to bed.  It’s a lot more comfortable than a hard, dusty floor.”  He sat up and motioned for Zack, hoping he wasn’t wrong about the other man’s ability to understand simple things.  The black-haired fighter slowly followed, his eyes wary and puzzled on Reno as the redhead stood up and kept motioning to him.

 

“Come on, hot stuff.  It’s all right,” Reno coaxed in the gentlest voice he could muster.  He winced a little at the soreness in his nether region and decided that as soon as he got Zack settled, he was going to down a couple of aspirin and hit the scotch a couple of times. 

 

“Come with me.”  He slowly backed up, gesturing for the other man to keep following him.  He suspected that Zack obeyed more out of an animal-like sense of curiosity than tameness.  Either that, or he was starting to snap out of it.

 

He eventually got Zack into the bedroom and he pulled the rumpled covers down and patted the mattress.  “Here, nice and soft.  Come on, Wolfy.”

 

When Zack only cocked his head at him quizzically, Reno sighed and got onto the bed himself.  He stretched out and patted the mattress again.  “See?  Come on, you were laying on this when ya woke up.  It’s fine, yo.”

 

Zack looked at the space beside Reno and then looked at the redhead again.  He approached the bed and climbed onto it beside him.  Reno leaned over the bedside and reached for the washcloth floating in the bowl that he’d used to keep Zack’s skin cool.

 

“Nice and easy,” Reno soothed as he rang the material out a little and cautiously wiped Zack’s package clean.  The fighter looked down and watched him do it and his shaft began to stir a little from the attention.  Reno gulped and hurried it up, knowing he’d end up on his knees and pounded again if he enjoyed a bit of play.    

 

“There ya go.”  Reno pulled the covers up over him and started to slide out of the bed and try to get him to stay, but Zack turned around and caught him around the waist, pulling him firmly against his body.

 

“No…bad wolf,” Reno grunted.  “Come on, man, I’ve gotta go shoot one of those flares!  Cloud might depend on it to find his way back.  You remember Cloud, right?”

 

The name seemed to strike a cord of recognition in the fighter’s eyes and he mouthed it clumsily. 

 

“Yeah, he’s your…uh…mate, I guess.  You don’t want him stuck out there by himself, lost in the snow?”  Reno was sure of it now; Zack’s ability to comprehend language was steadily improving.  He didn’t know if it was because he’d fucked away most of the aggression or if his condition was just temporary but it was encouraging to see more comprehension in his eyes.

 

Zack appeared to consider the problem and he loosened his hold on the redhead and let him get out of the bed.  Reno sighed with relief and patted Zack on the head.  “Good boy.  Now…uh…stay.  Don’t go anywhere, okay?”  Reno backed out of the room, feeling a little stupid for literally treating poor Zack like a dog.  The fighter watched him leave with that innocent, puppy look of curiosity and Reno felt even worse.  “I’ll come right back when I’m finished, Zack.”

 

Reno closed the door and hurried into the main room, hastily picking up his discarded clothes and tugging them on.  He grimaced as he pulled his underwear and pants up, knowing he’d probably be burning downstairs for a day or two from the rough treatment. 

 

_~It was worth it, though.  God, that was good.~_

Reno grinned as he mentally reviewed it and he started getting hot and bothered again.  The Turk gave himself a mental nudge and shook his head.  He picked up Zack’s underwear off the floor and he almost gave into the urge to smell it.

 

“Snap the fuck out of it,” Reno grumbled at himself.  Deciding he should wait until he was finished with the flare and the aspirin and the scotch before returning Zack’s undies to him, Reno pocketed them and went to the box still sitting on the floor.  He retrieved the flare gun and one of the flares and he put his shoes and blazer on and went out the door.  He paused at the threshold when he heard a wolf howl somewhere in the distance and he looked back into the cabin uncertainly, wondering if he should get his gun or his EMR from the kitchen, first.

 

Deciding he wasn’t going to be outside long enough to need them, he walked through the door and went down the steps.  He moved a few paces away from the house and aimed the flare gun into the sky, careful to point it away from the trees and cabin.  Just as he fired it, he spotted a familiar figure approaching from down the hill and he felt a little stupid.

 

“In the mood for fireworks?” Cloud asked dryly, grunting as he dragged a deer carcass up the hill to the cabin.

 

“I didn’t see ya until I already shot it,” Reno excused.  He hurried to Cloud’s side and pocketed the flare gun as he helped him drag his kill.  “I was worried you might be lost, Blondie.  Thought I’d shoot a beacon up just in case…and besides, if anyone’s looking for us they’ll see it.”

 

“Yeah, friends and enemies alike,” Cloud agreed with a sigh.

 

“Oh.  Fuck, I didn’t think of that.”  Reno groaned and shook his head.  “Well, hopefully our boys and girls are keeping Deepground too busy for _them_ to come calling.  Did ya happen to get in touch with anyone while you were out?”

 

“Yeah, but not who you’re probably hoping for.”  Cloud’s stony expression gave Reno pause.

 

“What’s that mean?” asked the redhead. 

 

Cloud bent down and lifted his kill in his arms, grunting a little as he carried it up the steps.  Reno opened the door for him and followed him inside.

 

“Ran into Genesis,” the blonde explained.  “He told me a little bit about that gas Deepground’s been using as a weapon and he claimed to know the formula for a vaccine.”

 

“Huh.  So did he give ya this alleged ‘formula’?” Reno asked, following Cloud into the kitchen and from there, into the cellar.

 

“No.”  Cloud hung the deer up on the hook hanging from the ceiling and stopped for a moment to catch his breath.  “He says he’ll give it to the WRO himself but I’m not counting on it being authentic until Reeve’s people can confirm it.  Knowing Genesis it’s actually a concentrated dose of the virus or something.”

 

“So, what’d he do after he dropped that bomb on ya?”

 

Cloud smirked humorlessly.  “He recited a line from a poem and took off.  Oh, and he _said_ he’d contact someone on our side and let them know where we are, but I’m not counting on that, either.”  His blue eyes grew concerned.  “You’re walking kind of stiff.  Did you fall or something?”

 

“Er, no.  About that, we’ve gotta talk.”

 

“Is Zack all right?” Cloud’s worry increased.

 

“Well, physically yeah, he seems peachy,” Reno answered wryly.  “His fever went away and his wing didn’t look like it was bothering him.  His mind is kind of whacked right now, though.”

 

“In what way?” Cloud frowned at him.

 

“Well, he kinda thinks he’s a wolf.  Or at least, he’s acting like he does.  His fever broke and he woke up all…snarly.  He’s in bed now…I…uh…I got him calmed down and he’s pretty tame.”

 

Cloud’s gaze sharpened.  “Damn, and I thought he’d get by without any symptoms.  Genesis told me this could happen.”  His eyes scanned Reno and he recalled that the Turk was moving gingerly.  “Reno, did he hurt you or something?”

 

Reno grimaced and reached into a blazer pocket.  As Cloud watched, he produced a dark, balled-up article of clothing and shook it out.  Cloud stared at the familiar pair of boxer-briefs and he blinked.

 

“Why are you carrying Zack’s underwear in your pocket?” 

 

“Music ain’t the only thing that soothes the savage beast, Blondie.”  Reno looked wary and a little sheepish.  “He was in the mood to fuck or fight, so guess which one I picked to get him settled down?”

 

Cloud’s expression was blank.  “And you decided to keep his underwear as a souvenir?”

 

“Not a bad idea, but no,” Reno chuckled.  “I just picked it up off the living room floor after I got him off to bed and I was planning to put it back on him when I went to check on him again.”

 

“So Zack went feral and you had sex with him, took his underwear and left him _alone_ in the bedroom?”  Cloud persisted.

 

“I know it sounds bad,” Reno stammered.  Shit, he _knew_ Cloud would think he’d taken advantage!  “What was I supposed to do, man?  I didn’t want to hurt him and I don’t have the strength to hold the guy down!”

 

“Well for starters, you shouldn’t have left him alone!  He might have slipped out of the cabin while we were bringing the deer in.”  Cloud didn’t wait for a response.  He hurried up the stairs and to the back of the house to make sure his lover hadn’t run off. 

 

Reno followed him, feeling like an utter dumbass.  It was a cold comfort that Cloud’s anger didn’t seem to be directed at the fact that he’d had sex with Zack.  Instead he was mad because Reno hadn’t kept a closer eye on him.  Either way, he was in the doghouse now.

 

“Cloud, if he got out he couldn’t have gotten far,” Reno offered as he came into the bedroom behind the blonde.  He stopped in relief.  Zack was there, sleeping soundly in the bed.  Cloud hovered over him and stroked his hair.

 

“We got damn lucky,” Cloud whispered to Reno.  “Look, until this wears off, we can’t let him out of our sight for long.  Unless you want to clean the carcass in the basement it’s going to have to be up to you, Reno.”

 

The Turk heaved a sigh.  “You got it, Blondie.  So, you’re not mad at me for fucking him?”

 

Cloud’s expression softened and he shook his head.  “No.  I just hope he wasn’t too out of it to remember it.  I’ve been waiting for you two to hook up, actually.”  He looked away uncomfortably, his customary blush rising in his cheeks.

 

Reno chuckled, his mood lightening as he leaned over the blonde and kissed him.  “Well, I can always refresh his memory if he forgets about it,” he murmured against the soft lips.  “I don’t think he will though.  He knew his name when I said it and I’m pretty sure he was partly aware of what he was doing, yo.  Maybe you won’t believe this, but I wouldn’t have done it if I thought he was totally out of it.”

 

“I believe it,” Cloud answered softly.  As coercive as Reno could be when he wanted something, he was the kind of guy that would want his partners to remember having sex with him.  Besides, he knew Zack had been in the process of setting him up for seduction before this happened.

 

“Go skin your kill and get cleaned up,” Reno suggested.  “I’ll stay here with Zack and make sure he doesn’t try to go join one of the local wolf packs.”

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“Sir, I’m sure they’ll be fine until tomorrow,” Reeve assured the president when he returned to Icicle.  “Cloud and Zack are both skilled outdoorsman and there’s no way that Cloud would have let either him or Reno out of his sight.  We’ll never find them in the dark.”

 

Rufus paced the floor of the house they were using as their strategy base and sighed.  “First thing in the morning, then.”  He started to sit down but thought better of it.  Instead, he tugged his coat more firmly around him, making sure it was covering him to the knees.

 

“Of course,” Reeve agreed.  “Now, I assume you’ll want us to move after the Deepground forces that retreated from the field as soon as we’ve located them, yes?”

 

“Absolutely,” Rufus nodded.  “We’ve beaten them back but they’ll regroup.  I have no intention of allowing them the chance to recover and I want every last one of them killed or rounded up for imprisonment.  This time, we won’t give them a chance to come sneaking back to cause damage again.”

 

“There’s still the matter of what we discussed earlier, Sir,” Tseng reminded the president softly.  Rufus still hadn’t seen a doctor to be sure the gas he’d inhaled wasn’t harming him, but Tseng was tactful about reminding him because he knew that the man didn’t want his business advertised in mixed company.

 

“I’ll consider it,” Rufus said, his gray eyes telling Tseng to drop it.

 

Rude walked into the house and paused at the door.  “President, Directors, I may have Reno and the others’ location.”

 

“How did you manage that?” Reeve questioned with raised brows.  “Did you get through to one of their cells?”

 

“No sir, but I know someone that’s found them.  He says he also has something for you.”  Rude stepped aside to make room for someone else and when the newcomer walked through the door, Reeve dropped the pen he was holding in shock.

 

“Well, isn’t this special,” Rufus murmured with an intrigued expression.

 

“Your comrades are fine,” Genesis said coolly.  “You’ll find them in a cabin at the foot of Gaea’s Cliff.  As for the gift I have for you, there are conditions.”

 

“Such as?” Reeve queried.

 

“Weiss isn’t to be killed.”

 

“Weiss?” Repeated Reeve.  He looked more exasperated than anything else.  “Doesn’t anyone ever just _die_ anymore?”

 

Genesis smiled faintly.  “Evidently, some are harder to kill than others.  That’s my offer to you, Mr. Tuesti.  Weiss is a sick man and I’m in his debt.  I want to see him get well again.”

 

“I see,” Reeve sighed, sharing a look with Rufus.  “This isn’t just my call, you know.  Why don’t you tell me what it is you’re offering in exchange for Weiss’s life?”

 

“Immunity from Deepground’s biological weapons,” answered the auburn-haired man.

 

Rufus snorted and rolled his eyes. The others looked at him questioningly and he waved a dismissive hand.  “Never mind.  Reeve, for the sake of our operatives I can agree to those terms.  You make your own choice.”

 

 “If what your offering turns out to be genuine, you have my cooperation,” Reeve said to Genesis.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Koibito, you’ve been in there for over an hour,” Tseng’s voice floated through the bathroom door, laced with concern.  They were sharing one of the larger Inn rooms while Icicle was their base.

 

“I’m fine,” Rufus assured him.  He stood naked in front of the bathroom sink and stared into the mirror intensely.  When he spotted nothing out of the ordinary, he sighed and twisted to look down at his backside.  “Tseng, I think I’d like to spend the night alone.”

 

The door suddenly burst open, forced by a skilled blow from the other side.  Rufus whirled around and stared at his Wutaian lover as Tseng advanced with tense features.  He had no time to cover up with his bathrobe and he backed up against the wall.

 

“Sir, I really _must_ insist that you tell me.  What…is going… _on_?”  The Turk leader’s dark eyes, normally so soft and gentle on him, were hard and stern.

 

 Rufus debated over whether he should just show him or put him in his place.  He saw the sincere concern lurking behind Tseng’s eyes and he sighed.  Tseng had been his lover for longer than anyone and he knew him better than most.  The president didn’t answer verbally but he turned around, showing the Wutaian his naked backside.

 

Tseng stared.  “Is that a _tail_ , Koibito?”

 

“It would appear so,” agreed Rufus, his face flushing with humiliation.

 

The Turk examined the thick, powerful appendage sprouting from his lover’s bottom where his perfectly normal, human tailbone had once been.  “It…appears to be a cougar tail,” he observed in a mystified tone.

 

“Very astute of you,” Rufus said crossly as he turned around to face him again.  His new limb swished behind him with cat-like agitation.  “Are you _happy_ now?  You were right; I was lying about being un-effected by the gas.  Perhaps you can fetch me a ball of yarn to play with, Tseng.”

 

The Wutaian was stunned and this was one of the rare occasions where his expression showed it.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued      


	21. Chapter 21

“Alliance”

Chapter 21

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Zack woke up much later in the black hours of the morning, sometime before sunrise.  The bedroom was fairly warm, thanks to the kerosene heater sitting on the tiled area in the far corner.  The first thing he became aware of was that there were two bodies lying beside his.  He blinked his eyes open and looked down, where two heads rested against his chest.  One was golden blonde and fluffy and the other was mussed and vivid red.  Zack grinned impulsively, enjoying the feel of Cloud’s compact body and Reno’s more lithe form against him. 

 

“N’ cuff time,” Zack whispered.  He frowned, having heard what just came out of his mouth.  He’d meant to say “No cuffs this time” because he’d been thinking of the last time he woke up with Cloud and Reno both sprawled on him.  He tried to whisper it again and it came out even more garbled.  It was like his mind and mouth weren’t connecting or something.  On top of that, his skin felt overly sensitized and the scent of his companions was unusually compelling.  He began to get aroused and it occurred to him that he was completely naked under the blankets. 

 

He remembered that Cloud had set his broken wing and he assumed his lover had been the one to undress him.  The wings weren’t out right now and Zack decided to wait until he got his thoughts pulled together before manifesting them and testing the one that had been injured.  Cloud had one leg thrown across Zack’s thighs and his naked skin brushed against his stiffening cock, making Zack draw a deep breath. 

 

Zack heard the low rumble of a growl and he blinked when he realized it had come from his own throat. 

 

He stared down at Reno’s upturned face and more of the events of the evening before came back to him.  Cloud had gone somewhere after healing his wing and when Zack woke up, all he could think about was the desire to take down prey or mate.

 

_~Wait a minute…”take down prey”?  “Mate”?  Dude, I’ve been listening to people compare me to a wolf too much.  What the hell’s gotten into me?~_

 

He had a very strong feeling that something had happened with Reno and he kept watching the redhead’s sleeping face, struggling to recall what it was. 

 

_~Found a fox in my den.  Pretty little thing.  Could have killed it but it was submissive and friendly…playful.  It licked me and…and…~_

Zack blinked up at the ceiling with a half-panicked expression of confusion on his face.  Those weren’t _his_ thoughts, were they? Reno stirred in his sleep and his lips brushed against Zack’s jaw as he shifted to a more comfortable position.  The feel of that mouth on his skin brought everything into focus and Zack realized he wasn’t channeling some wolf spirit or recalling a dream, after all.  He was remembering his own experience from last night, but he was thinking in terms of a predatory beast.

 

_~Oh god, if my memory is mixed up with animal thoughts, what if I really hurt Reno last night?  I remember the feel of him and his moans but what if there’s more to it than that?  What if I drew blood?  I tore a chunk out of that rapist’s neck with my teeth and that was when my mind wasn’t all screwed up!~_

Zack abruptly grabbed the covers and flipped them down, unmindful of his own nudity as he scanned Reno’s body anxiously.  The Turk was shirtless and there were a few faint, old scars here and there and a light smattering of freckles on his shoulders, but no visible sign of teeth marks or bruises anywhere that Zack could see.  Reno was wearing his pants and his hair was loose and spread over his back.  Zack brushed his hair aside and shifted him, examining his neck and jaw.  He spotted a fresh bruise on the left side of the Turk’s neck, shaped like teeth marks.  He grimaced and hoped there weren’t more like that hidden under his belt.

 

Deciding he couldn’t stand not knowing, Zack started fumbling with Reno’s pants to get them undone.  Cloud was roused from his sleep by the former Soldier’s motions and he lifted his head and mumbled sleepily. 

 

“Zack?  What’re you doing?”  Cloud rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and frowned.  His lover was clumsily trying to get Reno’s pants off and the blonde checked to make sure his own boxer shorts were still on. 

 

“Hurt,” Zack grumbled, shooting a look of frustration at Cloud that was faintly pleading.

 

Cloud shook his head.  “I don’t understand.”  He shot a look at Reno, who was sleeping through Zack’s assault on his clothing with blissful ignorance. 

 

“Zack,” Cloud whispered, laying his hands over the fighter’s to try and still them.

 

Zack growled warningly at Cloud and shook his hands off.  Cloud stared at him with fully awake, wide eyes…too baffled by his behavior to say or do anything else.

 

Zack got Reno’s pants undone and the redhead’s eyes flew open as he tugged them down.  Reno struggled to get up and he ended up falling off of the bed with an explosive oath.  Zack followed after him and the confused Turk instinctively tried to wriggle away as the larger man grabbed hold of his trailing pants and yanked at them.

 

“Holy shit, Zack…give a guy a chance to wake up, first!” Reno protested as his pants were pulled off, leaving him naked on the floor.  “Molest Blondie first if ya have to…he wakes up faster than I do!”

 

Zack didn’t respond except to pin him down and look closely at his legs, pelvis and thighs.  Reno sputtered and yelped as the larger man flipped him over onto his stomach and gave his buttocks and the back of his legs the same careful examination.

 

“Don’t just sit there with your trap hanging open, Cloud!” Reno twisted nimbly out of Zack’s powerful hold, using a combination of training and Mako-enhanced dexterity to get free.  “Cool it, Wolfy!”

 

Zack didn’t pursue him again.  He seemed to be satisfied with whatever it was he’d been trying to do.  He squatted on the floor beside the bed and looked at Reno with that puppy-like expression he’d used last night when the Turk had put him to bed.

 

“Sorry,” Zack whispered.  He either didn’t notice his own nudity or he didn’t care.  He climbed back onto the bed and stretched out on his stomach, putting his face in the pillows.

 

Reno warily got to his feet and exchanged a bewildered look with Cloud.  “Well, he can talk a little now but I’ll be damned if I know what that was all about, yo.”  He reached for his pants and pulled them on while Cloud stroked Zack’s back and murmured his name questioningly.

 

Reno considered the black-haired man and the way he was hiding his face in the pillows.  “Uh…I think he’s embarrassed or something.”

 

Zack turned his head and looked at Reno, nodding in agreement.

 

Reno tried to ignore how fine Zack’s naked ass looked and he sat on the edge of the bed.  “Was that an attack or something else, Fair?” he asked.  The man hadn’t tried to do more than take his clothes off so Reno suspected that he wasn’t trying to assault him.

 

Zack shook his head.  “Ch-checking,” he stammered.  “Remembered….and…thought…hurt you.”

 

Cloud figured it out then and he relaxed.  “He remembered what happened last night and he wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt you.  Is that right, Zack?”

 

The dark, tousled head nodded again and Zack burrowed his face deeper in the pillows.

 

Reno found his behavior ridiculously endearing and he chuckled.  “Relax, Wolfy.  Ya didn’t hurt me.  I don’t know how much you remember but I sure as hell didn’t complain.”  He helped Cloud roll Zack onto his side so he wouldn’t smother himself, ignoring the fighter’s soft growls of protest. 

 

“Quit hiding your face,” Cloud demanded.  Zack nipped at him but it wasn’t a serious attack.  There was a little sparkle returning to the other man’s eyes despite the faint blush in his cheeks.  Zack was getting frisky.  Cloud let himself go a little and he nipped back, biting Zack’s shoulder softly and grinning.

 

Zack’s groin pulled taut completely as a result of the love bite and he abruptly rolled on top of Cloud and nuzzled his neck, rubbing his aroused cock against his bare thigh.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think you can play with him like that while he’s in this condition,” Reno observed with a smirk.  “Unless ya want to be his bitch.” 

 

“I’m figuring that out,” Cloud muttered as he tried to stop Zack’s hands from tugging his boxers down.  “Come on Zack…if Genesis was telling me the truth our friends are going to be sending someone to come get us when the sun comes up.  We don’t have time to fool around.”

 

Zack nipped his throat again and continued pulling on his boxers.  Reno snickered when they went down, only to be tugged back up by Cloud’s desperate hand.  “Shit, you’re like a prissy little virgin on your first date,” the redhead accused.  “Just go with it, Blondie.”

 

“You really think he’s going to stop if someone comes while we’re in the middle of something?” Cloud said, peering up at Reno over one of Zack’s shoulders.  His face was flushed a lovely shade of pink.

 

“Somehow I don’t think that’s your biggest concern,” Reno said slyly.  “I think you’re nervous about fooling around with both of us for the first time.  Am I getting warm?”

 

“You’re not helping, Reno!” Cloud struggled under Zack’s hold and he froze in surprise when the black-haired man licked him on the cheek with a loving sweep of his tongue.  Reno had done that sort of thing to him before but this was a first for Zack.  It distracted Cloud so efficiently that Zack succeeded in getting his boxers off and tossing them to the floor.

 

“H-hold it,” Cloud gasped.

 

Reno was getting too turned on watching them to stick up for Cloud.  “Yeah, hold it, Wolfy,” –Cloud shot a relieved look at him until he continued— “But just ‘till I can get something to make it go a little easier or ya might hurt your cute little golden wolf.” 

 

While Cloud gaped, Reno got up and went to his blazer, which was hanging on the back of the little chair in the corner of the room, on top of Cloud’s clothes.  The Turk had a very obvious erection and Cloud had a feeling that he was going to get his threesome with his two lovers sooner than he’d anticipated.

 

“Guys, I mean it, we can’t mph!”  Cloud’s objection was interrupted when Zack slid his tongue into his mouth.  It thrust, curled and licked inside while the other man’s velvety, hard length rubbed against his leg.  Cloud’s eyes drifted shut and his breath quickened with arousal.  He was rapidly losing his modesty as Zack’s attentions turned him on.  The combination of sensuality and wild masculinity was too seductive to resist. 

 

Reno returned to the bed and he climbed back on with them, holding a handful of little lube packets.  He leaned over them both with a sultry grin, figuring there was no better time than the present to solidify their little triangle.  He blew into Zack’s ear, making the sable-haired man shiver and pause in his kissing to look at him curiously.  Reno licked Zack’s jaw, knowing that the gesture appealed strongly to him in his condition.  Zack nuzzled him in response, giving his neck a light, teasing nip with his teeth.

 

“R-Reno,” Cloud warned, pressing his hands against Zack’s chest, “What do you think you’re doing?”  The feel of Zack’s hard muscles underneath his palms distracted him and he ended up running his hands over his chest and shoulders admiringly. 

 

“You know you’ve been wanting it, baby,” Reno purred as he opened one of the lube packages and squeezed some into his hand.  Cloud’s eyes followed the motion and his eyes widened when he saw the little pile of the gel packets on the bed.

 

“How many of those do you _keep_ on you?” the blonde gasped.

 

Reno gave Zack another lick, followed by a gentle nip of his own that made the bigger man growl softly with pleasure.  “Just being prepared,” Reno murmured.

 

“Zack’s still not in his right mind,” Cloud reminded the redhead weakly.  His resolve was failing and the feel of Zack’s strong body pressing him down and rubbing against his was driving him crazy with lust.  Reno’s flirtations only made it more intense. 

 

“Zack, you’ve got your head pretty much together again, right?” Reno inquired in a husky voice to the dark-haired fighter.  “You’re just having a little trouble communicating?”

 

Zack nodded, giving Reno a familiar, sexy grin.  His thoughts were obviously more human now, even if his senses and reactions were more animalistic.  Reno found it encouraging and he nibbled the former Soldier’s ear and whispered; “Wanna have us both, baby?”

 

The aggressive, sexual look that Zack gave him in response was answer enough for the Turk.  Reno dropped his lubed hand down and asked Zack to lift his hips a little.  He did so and Reno massaged the lube over his stiff cock, kissing him when he groaned with pleasure.

 

Cloud was still pinned underneath Zack and he stared up at his two lovers, hardly believing what they were doing.  The sight of them was so sexy that it made his cock twitch with need and he bit his lip to hold back a moan as he watched Reno get Zack ready.

 

_~I should put a stop to this.  This isn’t our place and I’ll die of humiliation if Mr. Holzoff comes back while we’re in the middle of this.~_

He looked up at Zack’s pleasured expression and Reno’s passion-flushed features as they kissed and nibbled and he simply couldn’t find the will to argue over it seriously.  Shiva, he wanted them both so bad—whether he bottomed, topped, sucked, got sucked or took turns doing all of the above with them.  Unfortunately for Cloud, he still needed a lot of practice when it came to expressing his desires verbally.  Instead, he caressed Zack’s naked body and squeezed one of Reno’s knees to encourage them.

 

“Mmm, Blondie’s getting more agreeable,” Reno murmured as he arched his throat against Zack’s sucking mouth.  Zack’s breath caught and the Turk reluctantly stopped petting his cock, for fear that he’d make him come too soon.  Reno grabbed another lube pouch and applied more to his fingers to rub some over Cloud’s entrance.  He urged Cloud to rest his legs over Zack’s shoulders to expose him more fully and when he did, he began to prepare him. 

 

“He’s almost ready for ya Zack,” promised the redhead when he gently stopped Zack from trying to enter Cloud.  “Just want to make sure there’s plenty of lube, okay?  He’s not used to the rough stuff like I am.”

 

 Zack’s common sense returned for a moment and he looked down at the blonde apologetically, clenching his jaw against the primal lust he felt.  He _loved_ Cloud and he’d sworn from the beginning that he’d never give it to him rough unless he asked for it.  It wasn’t always easy to control his more aggressive urges when the blonde looked up at him with those arresting blue eyes and an expression of pleasure on his face.

 

Cloud saw the inward struggle in Zack’s eyes and he knew it couldn’t be easy for him to take it slow right now.  “It’s okay,” he said to the other fighter, gazing up at him trustingly.  “You don’t have to hold back so much.”

 

Zack cocked his head at him and furrowed his brow uncertainly.  Cloud gasped softly as Reno spread the chilly lubricant over his sphincter, but his eyes remained on Zack’s, silently reassuring him.  The blonde stroked Zack’s outer thighs and his breath shivered as Reno’s fingers penetrated and began to gently stretch him.  By the time Reno was satisfied, Cloud was panting softly and eager for more.  When the redhead withdrew Cloud slid his hands further back and squeezed Zack’s ass, biting his lip with anticipation.

 

When Zack entered him Cloud cried out throatily, despite his effort to be quiet.  Reno bent over him and the redhead’s mouth met his, the tongue spearing in teasingly before tracing Cloud’s gasping lips.  Zack slid his hands underneath Cloud’s hips to lift his bottom and he pumped slowly at first, until he sensed that Cloud was ready for more. 

 

He tried…he tried so _hard_ to be gentle but his thoughts twisted between bestial and human, confusing his senses and making self-control more difficult.  The way his blonde wolf moaned into the fox’s mouth and clutched at his haunches made the beast inside demand more.  Zack snarled and drove himself into the smaller body beneath him harder.   

 

Reno stopped kissing Cloud momentarily to treat Zack to some kissing and his hands worked with smooth efficiency while the two fighters were absorbed in each other.  Zack jumped in shock as he felt a slick fingertip press against the tight ring of muscle between his cheeks.  Reno’s hot breath fanned against his ear as the redhead purred a soothing assurance to him.

 

“Just trust me, Zack.  This’ll make it all more intense.”  Reno wasn’t that surprised by the resistance against his finger.  Seme types like Zack generally didn’t take it up the ass often, if ever.  He continued to kiss and nibble Zack’s lips and jaw as he gently rubbed and pressed, until the area loosened enough for him to penetrate.  Zack’s uneven gasp warned him not to push his luck with it and Reno didn’t use more than one finger to stimulate him inside. 

 

Zack’s conscious mind knew what Reno was trying to do and he was curious about it.  He grunted as the Turk’s seeking finger found the spot and stroked it.  The sensation jolted up his spine and spread out to his fingernails and toenails, making his eyes widen.  It was vaguely familiar to him…almost like the sensation he got when he practiced tantric skills—except he had no control over it this way.  Zack shoved into Cloud’s heat enthusiastically, pressing back against Reno’s stroking finger as he withdrew.

 

“Like that, do ya?” Reno observed in a lusty tone. 

 

He was shifting restlessly as he stimulated the fighter, making the material of his pants rub against his erection.  Now he wished he hadn’t put his pants back on after Zack stripped him but he hadn’t expected this.  He’d wanted the hell out of it but he figured he’d have to wait for some triple action until after they ended the Deepground threat and returned to Junon.  Reno slipped his free hand between his two companion’s writhing bodies and found Cloud’s dew-beaded erection to stroke it.  Cloud’s lengthy, shaken moan was his reward and Reno smiled down at the blonde’s flushed features, admiring his expression.

 

Zack’s grunts and growls grew more pronounced and Cloud panted beneath him as his hard sex shoved back and forth inside of him.  He dragged his hands up Zack’s spine and clutched at his back, biting his lip as each thrust threatened to drag a louder cry out of him.  Reno’s skillful massage on his cock made the pleasure outweigh the ache and Cloud’s breath hitched as he felt his orgasm coming.

 

“Unh!  Oh…” he tried to control himself and Reno clucked his tongue at him.

 

“Let it go, Blondie.  There’s nothing wrong with getting off on a good pounding,” Reno advised huskily. 

 

The Turk was beginning to understand why Cloud had a harder time letting go when he was being topped hard and fast.  His first time to take it as a uke had been in the limo with Rufus and he’d been coerced into it…stimulated until he was too horny to say no.  Rufus hadn’t exactly been gentle with him when he took him and though the blonde fighter forgave him and willingly slept with him now and then, Reno suspected the first experience had wounded Cloud’s pride.  He guessed that the blonde was simply afraid to admit it when a hard fuck felt good, even if his personal preference was to take it slow and easy. 

 

Zack lowered his head and flicked his tongue over one of the blonde’s nipples, making it tingle and driving him over the edge.  Cloud’s back arched and he came wetly against Zack’s flexing torso, tossing his head back against the pillow as the throbbing pleasure made him tremble.  The cry that tore from his throat was strained as he tried to hold it back and Reno bent over and kissed his throat, mouth and jaw.

 

Cloud opened his eyes and looked at him dazedly, his lips parted and gasping as the climax tapered off.  Reno smiled and kissed those lips again, while at the same time he pressed firmly against Zack’s prostate with his finger and rubbed.  The black-haired fighter shuddered and growled, tossing his head back and closing his eyes.  Reno heard Cloud sigh and saw the pleased, soft smile on his sculpted lips and he guessed that Zack was coming inside of him.

 

Even in his half-feral state, Zack avoided collapsing on top of Cloud.  He bowed his head and looked down at him, panting softly as he closed the distance between their faces and kissed him.  When he broke the kiss, he leaned his head toward Reno and gave him a kiss, too.

 

“I’m gonna explode in my pants if I don’t get a ride from someone soon,” Reno declared breathlessly when the kiss ended.  He slipped his finger out of Zack and grabbed another lube packet while undoing his pants with one hand.  Of course, he’d have to play a little with his wolves to get one of them fired up again for him but he didn’t mind one bit. 

 

Zack eased off of Cloud gently and sat back on his heels with his legs folded beneath him, reaching out to stroke Reno’s bright, straggling hair with admiration.  The Turk was in the process of tugging his pants down and he flashed a slutty grin at Zack, his blue-green eyes hot with lust.  His gaze slipped down and his mouth fell open.

 

“Zack baby, you’re still as hard as a rock,” Reno breathed in disbelief.  He could have sworn the man came a couple of moments ago but there was no creamy evidence of it coating his jutting, lube-slick member and Reno hadn’t seen him reach down to pinch the base of it the way Rufus often did to hold off orgasm and make it last longer.  His eyes shot back up to Zack’s and he regarded him suspiciously.  “How’d you manage to pull that off?”

 

Zack grinned at him secretively, distantly proud of himself for retaining enough mental control to manage the technique.  Reno’s prostate massage had actually helped him accomplish it, but he couldn’t explain that to him right now. 

 

“He came, right?” Reno demanded of Cloud.  “I’m not wrong about that, am I?”

 

Cloud nodded.  “Yeah,” he agreed breathlessly.  “I felt it.  He’s got sort of a…skill.”

 

Reno’s eyebrows shot up.  “What _kind_ of skill?”

 

“Remember what I did to you in the chopper that time?” Cloud reminded in a winded voice.

 

Reno looked at Zack again in disbelief.  “He can do that to _himself_?”

 

Zack winked, making the redhead’s heart skip a beat.  His blue-violet eyes roved over Reno’s body lazily and rested on his opened pants.  The dark-lashed gaze returned to Reno’s face and Zack looked at him as if to say; _“Well, what are you waiting for?”_

 

“Oh, we’re definitely going for it, Wolfy,” Reno promised. He dropped the packet of lube temporarily and struggled with his pants with renewed vigor.  He heard a huff of laughter from the dark-haired fighter and he smirked at him.  “Yeah, I want ya.  Enjoy the ego boost, hot shot.”

 

He tossed his pants across the room and they landed sloppily on the chair with the rest of his and Cloud’s clothes.  Zack waited, his breathing calming down a bit but his eyes no less passionate as they watched the Turk rise to his knees and prepare himself with the lube.

 

 _~Wish I could trust myself with my hands,~_ Zack thought fuzzily.  _~Feels like I’m not at my best here and I wanted to make a better impression.~_

 

Reno’s obvious willingness and desire made Zack feel a little better about what he considered a clumsy start on his part.  He silently vowed to give the redhead a fuller experience as soon as his urges returned to normal and they had another opportunity.  Cloud was still recovering but the blonde reached out and stroked Reno’s thigh with sensual familiarity.  His flush was going away as he caught his breath and by the expression on his face, he was looking forward to seeing the two of them together.  Zack licked his lips and squirmed restlessly as Reno fingered himself and moaned.

 

~Foxy’s got one helluva sexy voice…especially when he moans.  It makes me want to put my hand over the back of his neck and shove his face down…whoa…down boy!~

Zack cursed himself as his aggression rose and he fought against it.  He’d had _his_ way the night before and he made himself wait to see what Reno wanted.  He looked at the redhead questioningly as he finished lubing up, biting back his urges with difficulty.

 

Reno noticed how Zack was restraining himself and he had to give the man props for self-control. 

 

~Don’t know how he does it.  I can hardly control myself on a regular day.  Fuck, I wanna ride him but will he let me?~

“What do you think, Wolfy?” Reno murmured as he crawled over to him.  “Can a fox ride a wolf without getting thrown and eaten up?”

 

Zack’s lips quirked and he shrugged.  He reached out for Reno and gave him a challenging stare, daring him to find out.  Reno gamely took the challenge and climbed onto Zack’s lap, facing away from him.  He straddled the fighter’s hard-muscled thighs and licked his lips, elevating his body enough to rub against Zack’s cock enticingly.  The other man’s hands settled on his hips and a warning growl of lust burst from his mouth.  Reno looked over his shoulder at Zack and gave him a falsely innocent look.

 

“Just getting lined up, sexy,” the redhead purred.  He rubbed against the slick head of the rigid organ again and smiled.

 

“You’re pushing it, Reno,” Cloud warned as he propped himself up on his side and watched with aroused, sapphire eyes.

 

The blonde’s warning proved true as Zack firmly grasped Reno’s hips and forced him down onto his cock.  Reno whimpered with delight as he was breached and he followed up with a groan as Zack thrust upwards, deepening the penetration.  The fighter pulled him further down on his shaft and nipped Reno’s shoulder and then licked the spot a second later.  He guided the slimmer man up and down while he flexed powerful muscles and started taking him. 

 

Cloud watched his two lovers with quickening breath, responding to the sight of the pleasure on their faces, the sounds of Reno’s moans and Zack’s answering grunts and growls.  From his vantage point, he could see between Reno’s parted thighs as he moved and underneath the redhead’s groin, he saw Zack’s girth sink into his body.  It made the rising heat pulse within him and before he even realized what he was doing, the blonde crawled over to both of them and put his hands on Zack’s knees. 

 

Through his ecstasy, Reno became aware of what Cloud was doing and he smiled at the blonde invitingly, interested to see how he intended to join the fun.  Cloud’s hands stroked the toned thighs that Reno was straddling and then they moved on to slide over Reno’s parted thighs, pushing them further apart.  When Cloud lay down on his stomach and started lowering his head to Reno’s exposed, bouncing genitals the Turk understood his intention. 

 

Ordinarily Reno wouldn’t have the slightest problem with getting a blowjob while being fucked but the part of his brain that wasn’t drowning in pleasure reminded him that Cloud’s oral techniques were above and beyond average.  He honestly wasn’t sure he could take _that_ much stimulation.

 

“W-wait, Blondie,” Reno panted.  His eyes rolled as Zack’s dick shoved in and hit his prostate.  “Oh fuck…wait…just don’t do that thing ya do, okay?”

 

“What thing?” Asked Cloud with a convincingly ignorant, blue eyed glance up at him.

 

Zack caught hold of Reno’s earlobe with his teeth and he tugged on it, flicking his tongue over the hoop piercing it.  Reno cried out as he altered his rhythm to quick, shallow thrusts.

 

“Ohhh…sh-shit,” Reno whimpered.  “You know ‘ _what thing_ ’ I mean, Strife!”

 

A little demon took hold of Cloud. 

 

“Oh,” he said in a casual tone.  “You mean _this_ thing.”  He closed in on Reno’s cock and grasped it with one hand while he slid his mouth over the tip.  The redhead’s body shook and his hands pushed desperately at his shoulders as Cloud gently nibbled at the tiny hole of his urethra.     

 

Reno laid his head back against Zack’s shoulder and whined helplessly, trying to buck away from the intense treatment.  Zack’s hands tightened on his hips and held them steady, while Cloud supported himself with one arm and completely ignored Reno’s shoving hands.  The Turk’s fingers dug into his blonde lover’s shoulders and he panted like a wounded animal, hard and fast.  Breathless little cries escaped with each huff and his captured sex twitched in Cloud’s mouth. 

 

Cloud took pity on him and sucked the length into his mouth, working his tongue over it and taking some of it down his throat.  The spasms eased and Reno’s whimpers slowed and sounded a little less pained.  It was nice to give Reno a little payback sometimes for all the stunts he pulled on a regular basis, but Cloud wasn’t cruel and he knew how sensitive the Turk was.  He took it a little slower, since Reno was also being stimulated inside by Zack’s thrusts.

 

Zack sensed the Turk’s agitation too and he eased up as well, slowing his thrusts and deepening them.  He released his vice-like grip on Reno’s hips and stroked his hands up over his ribcage and around to his stomach and chest to explore the sleek, slim muscles.  He found his nipples and rubbed his fingertips over them in a circular motion, stimulating the pink buds to hardness.  Reno gave one of those sweet, needy moans and Zack nibbled his ear.

 

Cloud’s wet, warm mouth felt heavenly around his cock and Zack’s big, hard shaft massaged him inside perfectly as the sable-haired fighter took him.  Reno knew that an encounter with both of them would be intense but this was surpassing his expectations.  His nipples tingled deliciously and his body sang with pleasure as his two wolves dominated him.  He almost smirked at the direction of his own thoughts and his continued animal comparisons, but then Cloud resumed running his teeth over the head of his cock and Reno’s mind went blank.

 

When he felt the redhead tensing, Cloud didn’t try to keep him from having a full release.  He swallowed Reno’s shaft as it pulsed and he took the hot gush of his seed down his throat.  The Turk howled raggedly and squeezed Cloud’s shoulders with gratitude.

 

Reno’s ass was clenching so hard around his cock that Zack couldn’t have prevented his ejaculation this time even if he’d been in full control of himself.  The black-haired fighter stopped fondling Reno’s nipples and held him tight, gasping and groaning as he pushed deep inside of him and unloaded.  His wings burst free and none of the impassioned men noticed until they encircled all three of them in a loose, feathery embrace.

 

Reno’s head lolled against Zack’s shoulders and he licked his lips, dazed and weak from the encounter.  He cracked his eyes opened and saw that a curtain of feathers surrounded him and his two companions and he smiled dreamily.

 

“That’s so fucking cool,” Reno murmured.

 

Zack felt how heated the Turk’s skin was against his and he was sweating himself, so he smiled and fanned the air around them gently with his wings.  Cloud had released Reno’s sated shaft from his mouth and he rested his cheek on Zack’s knee, one hand stroking Reno’s thigh and the other stroking Zack’s. 

 

They could have probably dozed off that way, piled together in contentment.  Zack’s stomach made a loud hungry complaint and Reno’s growled sympathetically.  Cloud struggled into a sitting position and regarded his lovers with amused blue eyes. 

 

“Might as well do something with that deer I cleaned last night,” he offered.  “I hope venison’s okay.”

 

Zack’s mouth watered and he nodded enthusiastically.  He parted his wings to let the blonde out and he gently lifted Reno off his lap, murmuring a clumsy apology when his softening cock slipped out and the redhead gasped.

 

“Don’t fret it, Zack,” Reno sighed with a smile, stretching out on his stomach.  “I’m just a little sore.  It’s okay.”

 

Cloud winced as he got out of bed and Zack gave him a worried look, too.  The blonde noticed and leaned over to kiss him.  “You didn’t hurt us, okay?”

 

Reno rolled onto his back and threaded his fingers behind his head, lazy with the afterglow.  “Funny how a guy that can do so much damage in a fight can be so fucking sweet,” he teased with a wink at Zack.  “Once a boy scout, always a boy scout.”

 

Cloud pulled his boxers on and he smiled a little at the sheepish look on Zack’s handsome face.  “That’s what I like about him.”  He looked at Reno.  “If the pipes aren’t frozen up, why don’t you run us a bath while cut some meat off for cooking?  Quit smirking, Reno…you know what kind of ‘meat’ I meant.”

 

Reno chuckled and saluted the blonde.  “One bath, coming up, yo.”

 

~***************************~

* * *

 

Reno got the tub filled after letting the hot tap run by itself for a few minutes to give the water heater time to warm up.  The three of them bathed the sweat and body fluids from their skin together and did their best to wash their hair without the benefit of shampoo or conditioner.  Reno suffered from the lack of salon products the most, since his hair was quite long in the back and required conditioning to keep tangles out.  He managed to get a comb through it but unlike Cloud and Zack, his hair didn’t naturally hold fluff.  He shrugged it off as inconsequential and settled for doing his best with a brush and a comb.

 

They had to help Zack get his clothes and combat gear back on.  He tried to do it himself but his mind hadn’t yet bridged the gap between thought and action.  He got his pants up but when he tried to get his shirt on, he couldn’t get it to cooperate with him even when he pulled his wings in.  Cloud and Reno caught the poor guy trying to burrow into his shirt on the floor, like a dog crawling under a newspaper or something.  Reno barely contained his snickers as he and Cloud helped him finish dressing.

 

They ate the deer meat that Cloud cooked and the blonde changed the bedding sheets as a courtesy to the cabin owner, in case he returned.  They had to hand-wash the ones they’d rumpled and stained in an old-fashioned wash bucket and then hang them in the kitchen, which Reno wasn’t happy about.

 

“Why are we doing this again?”  He grunted as he helped Zack wring out the wet sheets.

 

“Because we broke into the guy’s cabin and got spunk stains all over his sheets,” Cloud sighed.  “It’s just the right thing to do, okay?  I know the owner and the least we can do is clean up our mess before we go.”

 

“Boy scout,” Reno grumbled.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

They were still waiting to hear or see any signs of transport at midmorning.  After trying several times to get cellphone or radio reception and failing, they gave up and went back inside to keep warm.  Reno busied himself with playing solitaire on the small dining table with the dirty deck of cards he kept in his blazer, while Cloud kept Zack occupied by wrestling playfully with him on the living room floor.  The bigger fighter kept winning but Cloud didn’t mind.  It wasn’t until Zack started getting too frisky again and Cloud felt his erection against his leg that the blonde put a stop to it.

 

“Okay, time to stop,” Cloud muttered.  His body was quickly reacting in sympathy and he didn’t want to get anything started that would delay their leaving or put them at risk of being walked in on.  Zack certainly had recovered his strength, so if they didn’t see or hear anything by noon Cloud planned to pack up and guide them back up the slopes to Icicle.

 

“Come on,” Zack persuaded seductively, looking down at the blonde with a cajoling smile.  Cloud’s shirt had ridden up during their play and Zack held his wrists pinned to the floor and caressed the bared portion of the blonde’s abdomen with his eyes.  His ability to string words together had gotten better as the morning progressed, but his urges were still fairly simple and wolfish.

 

“Warned ya about that, didn’t I?” Reno said from the kitchen with a smirk.  He told Cloud that wrestling was a bad idea when Zack was still under the influence of the Deepground chemicals, but the blonde thought he’d recovered his wits enough to control himself.

 

Cloud turned his head and peered into the kitchen at Reno, frowning with annoyance.  The action bared his neck to Zack and the black-haired fighter took advantage of the moment and bent down to kiss and lick at it.  Cloud’s eyes unfocused and fluttered shut, while his thigh rubbed against Zack’s hardened bulge instinctively.

 

Reno glanced at him and shook his head, chuckling softly.  “Your ass is gonna be too sore to fight anymore by the time we make it back, if ya don’t stop dangling treats in front of Zack’s nose.”

 

Cloud snapped out of his moment of weakness and struggled against Zack’s hold.  “Come on, Zack…try to focus,” Cloud grunted.

 

“Seems pretty focused to me,” Reno snickered as the dark-haired fighter didn’t budge or stop kissing Cloud’s neck.

 

Cloud stopped struggling, not because he was giving up but because his ears picked up the familiar sound of a helicopter in the distance.  Zack heard it too and a moment later, so did Reno.  All three men listened closely and when it was apparent that the sound was getting closer, Zack finally let Cloud up and Reno put his cards away and went to the kitchen window.  Cloud retrieved his and Zack’s swords and helped the other fighter put his scabbard on.

 

“Can you see them yet?” the blonde asked Reno as he secured his own scabbard to his back. 

 

“Yeah,” Reno said, his eyes narrowed as he looked through a crack between one of the boards.  “I’m just waiting to make sure it’s one of ours.  I know Deepground hasn’t used any air power yet but better safe than sorry, yo.”

 

Cloud joined him at the window and looked.  He could see the chopper approaching over the trees, from the direction of Icicle.  It was dark in color but it was still too far away to make out any markings.

 

“It’s ours,” Reno confirmed after a few moments, his eyes a bit sharper than Cloud’s.  He left the window and checked to make sure he had everything before going to the door and heading outside. 

 

Cloud and Zack followed and Reno fired one of the flares into the sky to draw the chopper’s attention.  It steadily flew closer as they watched and the closer it got, the more nervous Zack became.

 

_~Just noise, dammit.  Quit freaking out.  You’re a man, not a wolf!~_

He kept telling himself that but the sound was almost unbearable to his heightened senses and he looked into the snowy forest, fighting his instinctive urge to run.  He covered his ears with his hands and gnashed his teeth together as the chopper slowed to a hovering stop overhead and began to descend.  Cloud looked at him and noticed the way he was acting.  The blonde went to his side and looked up into his eyes, calling out to him over the noise.

 

Reno jogged toward the chopper as it landed and he smiled when Rude climbed out.  The cabin door opened to reveal Reeve sitting in the back.  The two partners slapped hands in greeting and Reeve asked if everyone was okay. 

 

“Yeah, we’re fine, thanks to Blondie finding this cabin for us to hole up in,” explained Reno over the noise of the spinning rotaries.  “Zack was hurt pretty bad but Cloud set his wing and healed him with materia.”

 

“What’s the matter with him, then?” Rude asked, jerking his chin at Zack. 

 

The redhead turned and saw that Zack was holding his ears and wearing a slightly panicked expression.  He glanced up at the rotaries spinning overhead and he guessed the problem.  He reached toward Reeve and gestured with his hand.  “Gimme a pair of those noise reduction headphones, will ya?”

 

Reeve leaned forward to open a compartment in front of his seat and he obligingly produced the requested item and handed them to the Turk.  Reno took it and jogged back to Cloud and Zack.

 

“Here Zack, drop your hands for a minute,” Reno ordered.  Zack hesitantly did so, cringing instinctively and tensing all over.  Reno fit the earphones over his head, adjusting them so they’d fit firmly over his ears.  “How’s that?  Better?”

 

Some of Zack’s tension faded and he nodded.  Together, Reno and Cloud guided Zack toward the chopper.  He hesitated as he started to get in and he almost tried to turn around, but Cloud, Reno and Rude blocked him.  Reeve watched in puzzled confusion, wondering why Zackary Fair was acting so frightened of the chopper.

 

“Why is he acting so spooked?” questioned Reeve.

 

“He breathed some of the chemicals in that gas Deepground used against us when his mask fell off,” Cloud explained to the WRO leader as he got in behind Zack and coaxed him into a seat.  “If you found us because Genesis told you where we were, I’m guessing he told you about the different effects.”

 

“Genesis told us,” replied Reeve.  He gave Zack a worried frown.  “So, I assume Fair’s suffering behavioral symptoms.  How long has he been like this?”

 

“Started last night, a few hours after I healed his wing,” answered Cloud.  “He’s getting better, though.  It’s just taking a while.”

 

“So it appears Genesis was telling the truth about those symptoms being temporary, at least,” pondered Reeve. 

 

Cloud and the others got Zack strapped into the safety harness before Cloud and Reno seated themselves on either side of him and did the same.  Rude hopped back out and closed the cabin door securely before getting back into the copilot seat up front.

 

Zack was looking fairly pale and claustrophobic.  Reeve nodded to the medic he’d brought along.  “Give him something to calm him down,” he ordered. 

 

“I’m not sure he’ll let ya stick him right now,” Reno warned as the doctor slid his medical bag out from under his seat and began to ready a small syringe with a dose of sedative.

 

Cloud was dubious about that too and when Zack saw the glint of the needle his tension mounted further.  “Wait,” the blonde demanded.  “Give me something to blindfold him with instead.”  To Zack, he said; “It’s okay.  We’re just going back to Icicle.  Will you let me cover your eyes so you’re not tempted to look out the window while we’re flying?”

 

The black-haired man nodded and shut his eyes, fighting to stay calm.  The doctor handed over a strip of cloth and Cloud put it over Zack’s eyes and secured it behind his head.  “Can you see anything?” the blonde asked, grimacing at what he was about to do.

 

Zack shook his head and licked dry lips, unable to speak through his tight throat. 

 

Cloud nodded at the medic and motioned for him to be quick.  There was no time or opportunity to search for a vein so the doctor aimed for Zack’s shoulder.  He poked the needle in, pushed the plunger down and withdrew before Zack had a chance to do more than jump with surprise.

 

“OW!” Zack blurted, sounding more like his old self.  He snarled in the general direction of the medic and rubbed the spot.

 

“Oh, don’t be a puss,” Reno snorted.  “It was just a tiny little needle!  You’ve been peppered with bullets before and hardly flinched!”

 

“Saw _those_ coming,” Zack growled defensively.

 

Reno shrugged.  In Zack’s defense, the doctor _did_ kind of go after his target like he was participating in a dart tournament.  

 

“Sorry,” Cloud apologized, throwing an arm across the bigger fighter’s chest to restrain him if he decided to attack the medic.  “You needed it, though.” 

 

Zack grumbled under his breath but he didn’t try to get out of his seat.  The helicopter lifted off the ground but the medication was already in his bloodstream, so rather than start panicking the black haired fighter began to relax.  A goofy grin slowly spread on his lips.

 

“I thought it was a sedative you were giving him,” Cloud said to the doctor in an accusing tone.  Zack was starting to act more like he was stoned than sleepy.

 

“Not all sedatives are for sleep,” explained the medic briskly as he disposed of the used needle in a plastic container and put the vial of medicine back.  “What I gave him was primarily to calm his nerves, though it may cause a bit of drowsiness.”

 

“So what’s going on with the fighting?” Reno asked.

 

“We beat them back but they regrouped overnight,” explained Reeve.  “The fight’s still happening.  We’ll have you briefed once we touch down in Icicle and you can join the rest of the forces whenever you’re ready.  Genesis gave us the formula for what he _claims_ is a vaccine against the gas, but we aren’t going to use it until we’ve finished testing it.”

 

“’M ready now,” Zack mumbled, his head nodding as the medicine relaxed his muscles.

 

“Uh, maybe you shouldn’t be fighting until you’ve gotten over your symptoms,” Cloud suggested.  He shot a meaningful look at Reeve, his eyes saying in no uncertain terms that he wanted Zack kept out of the fighting until he was himself again.

 

Reeve nodded, understanding the silent message.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued 


	22. Chapter 22

“Alliance”

Chapter 22

~**********************************~

* * *

“So where is Genesis now?” Reno asked as he and Cloud helped Zack out of the chopper and started toward the Inn.

 

Reeve got out behind them and followed.  “After we made our deal with him and he shared his information, he left.  He hasn’t been seen since.”

 

Reno frowned.  “I don’t like the sound of that, man.  He could be playing both sides.”

 

“I don’t think so,” Rude muttered, causing Reno to give him a surprised look.

 

“Sure about that, partner?  The guy’s history ain’t exactly rosy.  Hell, he killed his own parents so ya can’t tell me he’s got a beef with Deepground for what they’re trying to do.”

 

“I think he wants to help someone he considers a partner.”  The bald man shrugged and he looked at Reno meaningfully.  _~I know there’s not much I wouldn’t do for you, Red.~_

“Thought he was a monster,” Zack murmured, stumbling a little.

 

Cloud balanced him and kept him steered in the right direction.  He didn’t understand the taller fighter’s words and he waved them off as rambling.  He spotted Rufus in a long, white coat up ahead, standing outside the Inn and speaking with Tseng.  Both of them were wearing shades to protect their eyes from the glare of the morning sun on the snow.  The two of them looked at Cloud’s group as they approached and both men’s features relaxed slightly.  Cloud doubted that he would have noticed the change of expression a year or so ago but now he’d come to know the president and Turk leader well enough to detect the more subtle changes of expression that denoted relief or pleasure.

 

“Well done,” Rufus congratulated as they drew near.  “I understand the three of you had quite a night.”

 

Reno and Cloud exchanged a look.  Rufus certainly wasn’t wrong about _that._

 

“Blondie pretty much took care of us,” admitted the redhead.  “He fixed up Zack and bagged us a deer to keep us fed until you guys found us.”

 

Rufus nodded, his head turning Cloud’s way.  “I’ve no doubt of that.  I was informed that Fair is suffering a bit of poisoning from gas inhalation.”  He looked the black-haired fighter up and down with a frown, noting the drunken way he moved and his dilated pupils.  “How severe is it?”

 

“He’s suffered no physical changes, but he’s reverted to a somewhat primitive state of mind,” Reeve answered, “His symptoms are fading, but we had to sedate him on the helicopter because he wasn’t handling the ride well.  He’ll be out of the fight until he’s back to himself.”

 

“A pity,” Rufus sighed.  “But I suppose it can’t be helped.  Cloud, Reno, once you get him situated I’d like for you both to come to the house we’ve set up for communications and strategizing.  You know which one it is, I presume?”

 

Cloud nodded and he frowned as Zack suddenly started trying to pull out of his embrace.  “Zack, we need to get you inside,” he muttered to his lover as the sable-haired fighter leaned toward Rufus.  _~What the hell’s gotten into you?  Don’t tell me you’re confusing Rufus with Director Lazard, now.~_

Rufus leaned away but otherwise held his ground as Zack sniffed at him with comical interest.  “Care to explain this, Strife?” he muttered, turning his head away only to have Zack follow the motion and sniff the other side of his face.

 

Cloud pulled at Zack but Reno was too amused to be of much help.  “Short explanation: he thinks he’s a wolf.”

 

Rufus’s expression altered slightly, the patient curiosity fading into tension.  “A wolf, you say?”

 

Beside him, Tseng’s face also tensed.  “I think we should get Fair inside now,” the Wutaian said.

 

Zack suddenly growled low in his throat and this time, Rufus stepped back.  Cloud put his arms around his lover and used more force to drag him away.  Now that the fighter had actually made a threatening sound at Rufus, Reno’s amusement faded and he helped.

 

“ _No,_ Zack,” Cloud grunted as he and Reno struggled with the taller man, “stop it.”

 

“What’s gotten into you _this_ time, Zack?” Reno added.

 

Together, the two half-dragged Zack up the steps and through the Inn doors, while Rude held them open for them.  Zack looked over his shoulder at Rufus with a fixation that was half menacing and half playful.

 

When the doors shut behind them, Rufus breathed a subtle sigh that only Tseng was close enough to notice.

 

“Maybe he didn’t like your cologne or something, Sir,” suggested Reeve with bemusement.

 

“Yes,” Rufus agreed dryly, peering at the Inn doors from behind his shades.  “It must be my aftershave.”  He and Tseng exchanged a covert look while Reeve’s back was turned.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

After they got Zack set up in a room, a medic gave him another lighter dose of the same sedative he’d been given on the helicopter.  He assured Cloud that he wouldn’t overdose him and he’d only keep him sedated as necessary to insure he didn’t get into trouble while he was recovering.  Guards were assigned to ensure Zack didn’t try to go anywhere and Zack fell asleep on the bed.  Cloud and Reno reluctantly left his side and Rude went with them to the meetinghouse.

 

Tseng greeted them and offered hot coffee, juice and bagels as they entered the main room on the bottom floor of the house.  Once everyone had their refreshments, Rufus began to brief them on the situation.

 

“The rest of your friends are already on the field,” Rufus explained to Cloud as they gathered around the large table sitting in the center of the room.  A map was spread over the center of it.  “Testing is still in progress on the vaccine, so masks are still needed for the time being.  We’ve got an encampment set up between Icicle and the battlefield for fighters to withdraw and refresh themselves as needed.  We lost some ground overnight, but we’re regaining it and the Deepground forces are thinning.”

 

 Cloud and the others stared as Rufus casually stepped up on one of the chairs scattered around the table and continued to speak.  “You can see on the map where our forces currently are and where the enemy is concentrated.  Their leader hasn’t yet made an appearance but due to our agreement with Genesis, you’re to protect him and bring him into custody if at all possible, should you see him.”  Rufus walked over the chairs effortlessly and reached down to pluck a folder from on top of the table.  He opened it up and pulled a blown-up photo out, lightly tossing it onto the map with a deft flick of his hand.

 

“I’m sure you remember Weiss the Immaculate, Cloud.”

 

Cloud was still staring up at Rufus and so was everyone else.  Tseng was motioning to the president subtly and clearing his throat.  Rufus was now on top of the table, standing at the far edge of the map.  He frowned at the upturned faces, wondering why they were all looking at him instead of the identification photo he’d provided.

 

“Look at the photo, not at me,” Rufus demanded.

 

Cloud forced his eyes off the weird spectacle of President Shinra balancing on the edge of a big, rickety table like it was nothing and he looked down at the picture.  Reno did the same and so did Rude and the handful of other alliance fighters in the room.  A man with wild silver hair, ice-blue Mako eyes and a fighter’s build looked up at them from the photo.

 

“Yeah, I remember him,” Cloud sighed.

 

Rufus saw Tseng motioning to him and he became aware of what he was doing.  He hastily got down off the table with a smooth hop and he hoped nobody had seen the tail he was concealing under his coat.

 

“So he’s still alive?” Cloud continued, looking at Rufus with a frustrated expression.  “Does that mean Hojo’s still alive, too?”

 

“Genesis claims that Hojo was purged from him,” answered Rufus.  “Unfortunately, he left a lasting impression on the Tsviet and Weiss was driven mad from his influence.  Genesis wants us to refrain from killing him and bring him in for psychological help, instead.”

 

Cloud stared down at the picture contemplatively.  “Wonder what he did to earn that kind of loyalty from him,” he murmured.

 

“He cured his deterioration,” Rude offered.

 

Reno looked at his partner thoughtfully.  “Hmm, I think Genesis likes you, partner.”

 

Rude shrugged and straightened his tie, neither confirming nor denying it.

 

“He does seem to favor him,” Rufus agreed with a slight smile.  “Perhaps because Rude listens to his poetry without complaint.”

 

“So, everyone knows what Weiss looks like and understands that he isn’t to be killed if it can be helped,” Reeve said, putting them back on the subject. 

 

“Of course, Genesis has already given us the formula so technically we aren’t obligated to honor our part of the bargain,” Rufus pointed out with a shrug.

 

“Well, we’re _going_ to honor it, Sir,” Reeve said with a frown of disapproval.  “He chose to put himself at a disadvantage because he believes we’re honorable.  I would like to prove his perceptions are right.”

 

“I was only pointing it out,” Rufus said with a smirk.  “So that should one of our bullets ‘accidentally’ find their way into his skull, there’s no harm done.”

 

Cloud regarded the president thoughtfully.  He seemed to be taking an odd sort of joy out of the prospect, as if the idea of toying with the constraints of the bargain entertained him.  His ruthlessness had settled down over the past year but it seemed to be making an abrupt comeback.  Combined with his odd acrobatic feats, something seemed a little… _off_ …with him.

 

Cloud wasn’t the only one to notice it.

 

“Boss, are you feeling all right?” Reno asked, his blue-green gaze settling on Rufus with unconcealed worry.  “You’re acting a little…weird.  Did something happen in the fight yesterday?”

 

Rufus had a polite, pleasant expression on his face as he regarded the Turk.  “I feel fine, Reno.  Perhaps I’ve just drunk a tad too much coffee.  There’s no need for concern.  Now, if you’re ready to rejoin the fight, we’ve got a helicopter ready for your use, waiting just outside of town on the field.”

 

“Roger that,” Reno nodded, his expression of concern remaining stamped on his face.  “Uh, are you and Tseng staying out of this one?”

 

“For now,” Rufus agreed.  He didn’t sound pleased and by the stern look on Tseng’s face, the two of them had argued about it.  It made Reno even more suspicious but he shrugged it off and decided he could investigate later.  When Rufus Shinra wanted to keep something to himself, it was damned hard and time consuming to dig up the dirt.  With any luck he’d just come out with it later but there was no time to poke around for information in the meantime.

 

“Watch yourselves,” Rufus said to Cloud, Reno and Rude as they began filing out of the room to get ready for joining the fight.

 

Cloud looked over his shoulder at him and nodded, his blue eyes searching the president’s gray ones.  “You too,” he said simply.  _~I know something’s going on with you.~_

Rufus merely smiled coolly at him.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“You think he’s hot, dontcha?” Reno asked his partner as he and Rude walked toward the helicopter assigned to them.

 

“Who?” questioned the bald man evasively. 

 

“Don’t play dumb, ya big teddy bear.”  Reno grinned at him.

 

Rude shrugged.  “He’s okay.”  He looked at Reno sidelong.  “You don’t think he’s got something?”

 

Reno shrugged.  “I’m not into redheads.”  He winked at the larger man.  “I know _you_ are, though.”

 

“You like yourself enough,” Rude muttered.

 

Reno laughed.  “Well yeah…I kind of have to.  Doesn’t mean I’d go for another redhead, though.”  He sobered and stopped by the chopper, looking up into his partner’s eyes seriously for a moment.  “Just be careful.  Piece of ass or not, I still don’t think Genesis is playing with a full deck.  I’m all for you tapping that if ya want to but I don’t want to see you get hurt, man.”

 

“I’m not the reckless one, here,” Rude said with a faint smile.

 

Reno chuckled.  “You got me on that.”

 

Cloud drove up on Fenrir and he stopped for a moment to regard them.  “Try not to get hit this time, Reno,” he said with a stern look at the redhead.  “Rude, don’t let him get too reckless, okay?”

 

“I’ll keep him in line,” the bald man promised.

 

“Hey,” Reno said with a scowl at both of them.  “I cleared the way for the rest of the air team, you ungrateful assholes.”

 

Cloud smirked.  “You don’t have to do that now.  Just keep it simple, this time.”  With that said, the blonde fighter kicked his motorcycle into gear and drove away toward the distant encampment.

 

After admiring Strife’s retreating ass for a moment, Reno grumbled and yanked open the pilot-side door to climb in.  He and Rude put their masks on and buckled in while he started the engine.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

Yuffie spotted Cloud first as he drove up on Fenrir.  The petite ninja broke away from the fighting force to run to him and throw a hug around his neck.

 

“You scared the hell out of everybody, Cloud!”  She pulled her mask up and planted a little kiss on the part of his cheek that wasn’t covered before she stepped back to examine him for injuries.  “I knew you’d be okay, of course.”

 

Cloud smiled faintly at her and pulled the release catch on Fenrir’s weapon compartment.  It opened to reveal his many swords and he selected a couple of the smaller ones and slid them into the sheaths criss-crossing his back.  “Of course you did,” he said. 

 

He looked out over the bloody fields and did a quick body count.  They’d lost a few WRO members but there were more Deepground bodies littering the frozen ground than allied forces.

 

Vincent spotted him and after firing a couple of shots at the enemy forces, he came over as well.  “They’re putting up an admirable fight, but we have them routed.” 

 

One of the enemies broke through the combat behind Vincent and charged towards them while he was talking.  The gunman saw Cloud tense and reach for his weapons and he turned and fired smoothly, putting a neat hole in the Deepground operative’s head and sending him sprawling dead in the snow.  Vincent turned around and continued talking as if nothing had happened.

 

“There’s been no sign of Weiss yet but we’re hopeful that we’ll drive them back to the base of their operations and find him,” finished Vincent in his deep monotone.

 

Cloud almost smiled, finding it funny in a macabre way that his friend had executed the approaching enemy without blinking or stopping his conversation.  There was an explosion to the right as an enemy grenade hit the ground mere feet away from the three friends and Yuffie cringed as a couple of alliance fighters took the brunt of it and screamed. 

 

“We should get moving,” Cloud observed with a frown. 

 

One of the gas capsules Deepground was using landed amongst the allied forces and broke open.  A couple of people had lost their masks and they tried to run and cover their mouths and noses.  The encampment between Icicle and the battle was already filled with medical tents full of unfortunates that lost their masks in the heat of combat and inhaled the corruptive vapors.  Those that didn’t die from it or weren’t naturally immune suffered mutations or behavioral alterations.

 

Cloud shut Fenrir’s weapon compartments, drew his sword and revved the engine before kicking into gear.  Yuffie and Vincent followed him into battle, passing Tifa on the way.  She also followed in the blonde’s wake as he drove through the allied forces and into the enemy ones.  While Cloud cut a bloody path through the Deepground ranks, his friends followed behind and took out more of them with gun, Shuriken and fists. 

 

From the sky, the air strike force fired down on the bulk of enemy forces, occasionally firing missiles into the back ranks, far enough away from their own allies on the ground to be no danger to them.  The Deepground forces tried to fire back at the airship and ShinRa choppers but most of their missiles were depleted now, so they weren’t able to produce an impressive volley against them. 

 

As he fought, Cloud kept glancing up at the sky, wondering if he’d spot Genesis and hoping to eventually see a familiar, black-haired fighter joining the battle.  He fought on grimly, trying to keep his mind on the battle and off of his lover’s condition.  With any luck, Zack would make a full recovery soon.  The medics at the rest encampment had told him that most of the patients afflicted with the behavioral changes from last night’s battle were coming out of it now.

 

By late afternoon, Cloud and his friends withdrew from combat to get something to eat and rest a bit at the encampment.  Cid had to return to Icicle to refuel and reload and so did Reno and Rude.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Zack groaned and sat up in the bed, shaking his head to clear it.  His head ached a little and his mouth was dry, but he felt like himself again.  He rubbed his eyes and looked at his surroundings, realizing he was back at Icicle in one of the Inn rooms.  Reeve Tuesti was standing over him and regarding him with uncle-like concern.

 

“You’re finally awake,” Reeve said with a smile.  “How do you feel?”

 

“My head hurts,” Zack answered.  “Mouth’s a little dry.  Other than that, I feel okay.”  Unfortunately, he could remember every detail about the way he’d acted while under the influence of Deepground’s gas and his face was hot with embarrassment.

 

Reeve walked to the small, round table in the room and poured a glass of water from the pitcher he’d put there.  “I figured you’d be thirsty when you came out of it,” he explained as he brought the glass to Zack.  “That medicine tends to give a fellow cottonmouth.  Here.”

 

Zack took the glass from him and nodded in thanks.  After swallowing a few gulps of the cool water, he looked up at the WRO leader sheepishly.  “Um, I don’t know how else to ask this.  Did I really _sniff_ President Shinra?”

 

“Oh yes,” Reeve confirmed with a nod and a crooked smile.  “You also growled at him.  It was very amusing.”

 

Zack groaned again and ducked his head.  “I was hoping I just dreamed that part,” he grumbled.  _~I almost hoped I dreamed the rest of it too, even though I can’t complain about having my way with Reno and Cloud.  Shit, that wasn’t how I wanted my first time with Foxy to go!~_

Reeve noticed how humiliated the fighter looked and he felt sorry for him.  “Look, don’t sweat it.  You couldn’t help it and it’s over now.  The important thing is you’re back to yourself again and once a doctor has a look at you, you can join the others on the field and help us end this.”

 

“Can’t I just go now?” Zack asked.  He was spoiling for a fight to take his mind off of how monumentally dumb he’d acted.  If Reno were a girl, he’d be buying him flowers and an apology card right about now.  Cloud would get a box of chocolates for putting up with his stupidity and taking care of him.

 

_~Hmm…what do you buy a guy that says “I’m sorry I acted like a freak, please forgive me”?~_

“I’m sorry,” Reeve said, “but if I let you leave without letting a medic examine you and confirm that you’re head’s on straight first, Cloud will have _my_ head.”

 

Zack smirked.  “Wouldn’t want the chocobo mad at you.  Okay, send for the doc.  I’ll be a good little mutt and let him look me over.”

 

Reeve chuckled with amusement and left the room to find a medic and get Zack some aspirin for his headache.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Thirty minutes later, Zack was dressed in full combat gear, armed and ready to go.  He’d taken some aspirin and wolfed down a sandwich after getting looked over by the doc and now he wanted to get his ass out there to help his friends.  He saw Rufus Shinra walking toward the Inn as he spread his wings and he cringed a little when the president looked at him.  He waved at the man and quickly launched into the air before Rufus could approach and lecture him.  The president watched him with a bemused expression but he didn’t seem angry.

 

Zack pulled his mask up over his mouth and nose and he flew out over the field, his eyes narrowed against the wind as he soared to the distant battle.  One of the helicopters was returning and he banked to the right to get out of its way.  He spotted Reno in the window and the Turk looked surprised to see him as Zack waved at him and gave him a sheepish grin. 

 

_~As soon as this is over, I’m going to make it up to you, Red.~_

Of course, if Zack could have read the Turk’s mind he would have known that Reno wasn’t the slightest bit disappointed with the encounters they’d had while Zack was in his wolf state of mind.

 

Zack flew lower as he drew near the main fighting.  He spotted Cloud heading back into the fray and he started to holler a greeting to him, but at that moment someone in the Deepground forces lobbed a grenade and Zack saw it arching through the air below.  He swooped down and caught it, twisting his body and spinning in the air.  He quickly flew over the Deepground ranks and tossed it down at them.

 

“Here, you dropped this,” Zack said with a grin and a salute.  He heard the alarmed shouts as he shot straight up to get out of firing range and avoid the inevitable explosion.  The grenade went off and Zack grimaced as his enemies screamed.  He told himself it was justice as he banked away and headed back towards his allies.

 

Back behind the alliance forces, Zack saw Cloud waving his arms and hollering at him.  The expression on the blonde’s face was surprised and delighted.  Zack grinned and flew over to him, coming to a landing before him.

 

“Hey there, Sunshine,” Zack said as he treated himself to a brief hug.

 

“You’re okay now?” Cloud asked, his breath tickling Zack’s ear.

 

“Yup.  I’m back to my old, pain-in-the-butt self again,” Zack assured him, smiling as he pulled away.  “I kind of wanted to fly into battle with a paper bag over my head, though.  I’m really sorry about the way I acted.”

 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Cloud comforted.  “Besides, it was kind of fun,” he admitted bashfully, grinning at the other man.

 

Zack snorted.  “Yeah?  I’m surprised I didn’t try to lick my balls or something.”  He looked out over the field and reached back to draw his weapon from its scabbard as he pulled his wings back in.  “Well, no use closing the barn door after the chocobo’s escaped.”

 

“Did they brief you before you left Icicle?” Asked Cloud, grinning at Zack’s comment about licking his balls.

 

“Sure did,” confirmed the taller fighter.  “Reeve explained everything to me while the doc was looking me over.  Let’s do this, buddy.”

 

Cloud nodded in agreement and motioned for Zack to get on behind him.  The black-haired fighter took the invitation and together, they rode back toward the battle.  Zack jumped off of Fenrir as soon as they closed in on the front line of enemies and he launched into deadly motion, diving through the ranks and carving a gory swath as he went.  Cloud continued ahead, doing considerable damage himself.

 

A huge, spinning shuriken spun past Zack’s face, narrowly missing it.  He knew who’d thrown it and he almost asked Yuffie what the hell she was doing, but it struck a charging Deepground fighter that Zack hadn’t seen coming in the chest, felling him.  The fighter pulled the weapon out of the body with a grunt and handed it back to Yuffie as she hurried over to him.

 

“Thanks, kiddo,” Zack said.  “Guess I wasn’t paying enough attention.”

 

“You’re lucky you’ve got _me_ to watch your back,” Yuffie answered lightly. _~Not that I mind watching your back, when it comes with such a nice, tight butt.~_

~********************************~

* * *

 

They were ordered to leave the field after the sun set and it became too dark to fight without special night-vision equipment.  They’d once again beaten the enemy back and Zack estimated that at the rate they were going, there wouldn’t be any opposition left by the end of the week.  At least, he hoped so because while the allied forces seemed to have the advantage now, their ammunition wasn’t unlimited and lives were being lost on their side as well.  He wondered if Weiss was ever going to come out or if the Deepground leader was even in the area.  So far they hadn’t seen hide or hair of him, but he could be operating behind the scenes from wherever the Deepground base was located. 

 

Both forces withdrew but the WRO had helicopters circling overhead to keep an eye on the enemy, watching in case they tried to get away or in case they tried to move in on the alliance during the night.  Bodies were taken off of the field to be transported for burial and the weary fighters returned to Icicle to get fed, cleaned up and rested until morning.  Vincent immediately retired to the room he and Reeve were staying in and the others soon did the same.

 

“Get plenty of rest guys,” Tifa said tiredly to her friends as she retired with Yuffie to the room they were sharing. 

 

Reno and Rude were sharing a room and the redhead complained he was too tired to even fuck, which made Zack chuckle.  Somehow, he doubted Reno was ever too tired to fuck, but the cranky mood that the redhead was in made him think better of saying it out loud.

 

“Don’t keep our boy up too late, Fair,” Cid warned Zack as he patted him on the shoulder in passing.  Barret followed, his heavy boots clumping with exhaustion against the stairs as he climbed them. 

 

“’Night, Spiky,” the big coal miner yawned.  “’Night, Zack.”

 

“See you in the morning,” Cloud called after him.  The blonde turned to face Zack.  “Did you want to get something to eat before we go to bed?”

 

“Do you really need to ask when there’s food involved?” Zack grinned.

 

Cloud smiled.  “You’re right, there was no need for me to ask.”

 

~******************************************~

* * *

 

After having some dinner and showering together, they put their soiled clothing in the laundry bag sitting by the door and got into bed.  Once they lay down, both fighters were surprised to realize how tired they actually were. 

 

“I feel a little guilty, having our own room while the other fighters have to sleep in tents or on the floor,” Zack muttered.  “Of course, getting the VIP treatment gives me the privacy to do this—” He slipped his hand down to grope Cloud’s ass, making the blonde squirm and grumble.

 

“We need to get a lot of sleep,” Cloud reminded him.

 

“I know, but who says we can’t enjoy a little nookie before we go to sleep?” Zack said with a wink.  He kissed the blonde to silence further protest and Cloud responded to the kiss with enthusiasm that had him chuckling.  They kissed and caressed for a while but neither had the energy to do much more than that and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

Cloud thought he was done with the nightmares.  He hadn’t had them since Zack came back and he thought he was finally free of them.  Some time after midnight, he began to stir restlessly in his sleep, murmuring a denial as that awful day replayed in his mind.

 

_Zack’s blood on his face.  The smell of death and gunfire all around him.  Zack’s eyes looking up at him as the light faded from them forever.  His own ragged, agonized scream as he realized that the only real friend he had was gone.  He’d never had the chance to tell him…tell him how he really felt._

“Cloud?  Hey, Cloud, snap out of it!”  Someone was shaking him and a familiar voice called to him urgently.

 

Cloud opened his eyes and stared up at Zack.  He realized now that he must have screamed out loud in his sleep.  In the darkness of the room, Zack’s face was hard to make out.  He needed to _see_ him…needed to _touch_ him.

 

“You went away,” Cloud gasped, his mind still half-caught in the nightmare.  “You died!”

 

Zack felt his heart constrict and he reached out to click on the bedside lamp.  When the soft light bathed the room, he looked into Cloud’s pain-filled, wide eyes and caressed his face.  “No Cloud.  I’m right here, okay?  I thought we were past this now.  Shhh, it’s okay.  You just had a nightmare.”

 

Cloud was trembling and his pupils were wide.  Tears were welling in his eyes and he clutched at Zack desperately, as if he was afraid he’d be torn away from him at any moment.  “Your blood,” he moaned, “It’s all over me!  Wake up, Zack…please don’t go!”

 

Zack’s expression was pained as he stroked the smaller man’s blonde hair and tried to calm him down.  “Oh baby, don’t do this,” Zack murmured.  He caught one of the hands that were clutching at his shoulder and gently guided it over his bare chest, flattening it against his skin so that it rested over his heart.  “Here, feel that?  My heart’s beating.  I’m here, Cloud.  I’m real.”

 

Cloud felt the comforting thump of Zack’s heart under the warm, smooth skin and he looked at his hand and then into the beloved amethyst eyes of his lover.  “I need to feel you,” he whispered past the ache in his throat.  He was still confused and frightened, half convinced that his mind was playing tricks on him.

 

“You _are_ feeling me, Sunshine,” Zack said gently.  He bent his head and started kissing away the tears that were trailing from the corner of Cloud’s eyes.  “Shhh, I’m here.”  He kissed the trembling mouth next and stretched out on top of him, letting him feel the length of his body against his. 

 

Cloud ran his other hand over Zack’s back and shoulders and he returned the kiss with needy enthusiasm.  “Need you,” he whispered against the black-haired fighter’s lips.  “Want to feel all of you, Zack.”

 

At a loss for any other way to make the blonde feel _all_ of him, Zack began to caress Cloud’s body with one hand while propping himself up with his other arm to keep his full weight off of him.  “You’ll feel all of me,” he promised gently, trailing soft kisses over Cloud’s jaw and neck.  He stroked a nipple with his fingertips and the blonde sighed, the fingers of the hand resting over Zack’s heart curling reflexively.

 

He hadn’t seen Cloud this vulnerable since the escape from Hojo’s lab and it brought out every protective urge Zack had.  He couldn’t stand the pain in his lover’s voice and eyes.  He wished he could kiss away the memory of his death so that it couldn’t hurt Cloud anymore, but the best he could do now was show him that he was warm and alive and not going anywhere.  He moved his hand down to stroke the blonde’s taut abdomen, rubbing in light circles over the soft skin.  He traced the navel, loving the shape and depth of it.  Cloud whimpered and Zack kissed his mouth again, stroking inside with his tongue to still his cries.

 

“I’m here,” he whispered over and over again between kisses as he touched him.  He slipped his hand deftly into Cloud’s boxers and curled his fingers around his hardening shaft, stroking the silken length with slow, loving care.  Cloud’s breath caught and Zack slipped his tongue into his mouth again to caress his.  He brushed his thumb over the heart-shaped tip of the blonde’s sex, drawing a little shiver of pleasure from him.  Cloud’s hand stayed in place over his heart, while the other one explored his body with eagerness that was somehow innocent.

 

“Want to feel you inside,” Cloud murmured against Zack’s mouth, his voice aching and passionate.

 

“You will,” Zack promised.  He paused in his fondling to reach out for the tube they’d brought with them for just such a purpose.  He fumbled blindly over the surface of the bedside table for a moment before his fingers closed over the item he was after.  He set the tube aside on the mattress for the moment and he started to roll off of Cloud so that he could get them both undressed.  The blonde clutched at him and shook his head and Zack smiled reassuringly down at him.

 

“It’s okay, Cloudy.  I’ve just got to get our undies off, all right?  Here, keep your hand over my heart if it helps.”  He placed his larger hand over Cloud’s to hold it in place as he got off of him.  “How’s that?  You okay?”

 

Cloud swallowed and nodded, his blue eyes never leaving Zack’s face.  The black-haired fighter pulled the covers down and slid Cloud’s boxers off first before wriggling out of his own briefs.  Now that they were both naked, Zack pulled the covers back up and eased onto the blonde’s body again, his thighs pressing between Cloud’s. 

 

Zack kissed him again and slid his hand under one of the blonde’s knees to lift his leg up.  He set it on his shoulder and reached out for the lube.  It took a bit of finesse to squeeze some onto his fingers without putting his full weight on the blonde but Zack’s stubborn spirit allowed him to win the battle with gravity and get it done.  He set the tube aside and slipped his hand under the covers, searching for his goal with practiced skill.  Cloud’s little gasp when he found it and began preparing him was muffled against Zack’s mouth.

 

Zack worked his body with gentle care and when he wasn’t kissing him, he held his eyes and murmured to him reassuringly.  “It’s okay.  I’m here.” 

 

That trembling, calloused hand never left his chest as he gently thrust his fingers inside of Cloud’s tight heat and Zack had a feeling it would stay there the entire time he made love to him, too.  The panic was fading from Cloud’s eyes, at least…which was a good sign.  Zack rubbed the little gland inside and he smiled when Cloud moaned and licked his lips.  He lowered his mouth to his again and gave him a deep, loving kiss as he stimulated the spot until the blonde was panting softly and moving restlessly beneath him.

 

“I think you’re ready for me, Sunshine,” Zack informed his lover in a husky whisper.  He withdrew his fingers and reached for the lube again.  “Do you want to get me ready?” he offered when Cloud’s other hand curled around his erection.  Cloud nodded and released him to pull his hand up.  Zack squeezed some of the gel onto it and closed his eyes as Cloud’s hand slipped back under the covers and started rubbing it on his cock.

 

“Feels good,” Zack sighed unnecessarily.  Cloud’s soft lips were pressing kisses against the hollow of his throat and Zack moved his hips, matching Cloud’s strokes as the blonde slicked the length of his cock with the lube.  Cloud didn’t stop once the organ was coated and Zack allowed him to keep petting it for a while, kissing him softly and murmuring his name.

 

“Guide me in, Cloud,” Zack murmured after a few moments.  He felt the stroking hand still and grip him firmly as he slowly rocked forward.  He felt the puckered flesh against the tip of his cock and he flexed his hips and breached it carefully. 

 

“Zack,” Cloud whimpered, his hand curling over his chest.

 

“Hurt?” Zack asked him.

 

Cloud shook his head.  “Don’t stop.”

 

Zack eased in, driving his rigid flesh in without stopping until he was completely inside.  Cloud exhaled shakenly and looked up at him with parted lips.  Zack held his position for a moment and lowered his mouth to the blonde’s kissing him deeply. 

 

“Feel me,” he murmured against the soft lips.  He withdrew slowly and eased back in, tracing Cloud’s gasping lips with his tongue.  “Better?” Zack queried huskily.

 

“Perfect,” agreed Cloud, the last of his fears melting away as Zack’s body joined with his.  Distantly, he felt a little foolish for his weak, childish behavior but if the other fighter minded, he certainly didn’t show it.  Cloud almost pulled his hand away from Zack’s chest but the steady rhythm of the heart beating beneath his palm was reassuring, so he left it resting there.  Zack began to move steadily and Cloud didn’t try to temper his moans of pleasure as the hard, thick length of his lover’s cock massaged him inside.  He allowed his free hand to explore other parts of the hard body moving over his, tracing the contours and planes with questing fingers. 

 

Zack paused and rotated his hips, moving his shaft around inside of Cloud with sensual, experimental motions.  The blonde groaned his name and squeezed his left buttock, tossing his head as the sensations pulsed through him. 

 

“You like that?” Zack asked breathlessly, smiling down at him.

 

“Oh god,” Cloud blurted in response.

 

Zack kept doing it until Cloud’s body reached a level of tension he was familiar with and then he started pumping again, gasping as his own pleasure grew to greater heights.  He kissed the blonde’s arching throat and murmured his name shakenly, fighting to hold his orgasm back as he realized he wasn’t going to come without spending himself.  He thrust a little harder but kept his rhythm slow.  Cloud’s ragged moan told him the blonde was very, very close and Zack lowered his mouth to his chest and took a nipple between his lips to tease it with his tongue.

 

“Unh…Zack!”  Cloud’s cry was loud and heartfelt as his orgasm exploded and his toes curled.  His breath hissed between his teeth as he clenched his jaw and spattered Zack’s stomach with his seed.

 

“That’s my Sunshine,” Zack encouraged warmly as he released the bud he was teasing and nibbled Cloud’s ear.  He closed his eyes and groaned softly as the blonde clenched spasmodically around his pumping cock.  “You feel so amazing,” Zack sighed.  The spasms slowed and stopped after a moment and Cloud’s contented sigh was music to Zack’s ears. 

 

He lasted for perhaps another five minutes before his climax took him into bliss.  Zack moaned his lover’s name and arched his back as he filled him.  Cloud kissed his heaving chest and stroked his back with lazy pleasure as he pulsed inside of him and trembled with release.  When it was finished, Zack laid his head on Cloud’s shoulder and rested for a while as the blonde’s fingers combed through his hair.

 

“I’m sorry I acted like that,” Cloud murmured after a few moments of basking in the afterglow with him.  Zack lifted his head to look at him and Cloud felt himself blush.  “I was confused and kind of caught in the nightmare.  I guess it hit me so hard because I haven’t had it since you’ve been back.”

 

Zack gave him a slow, loving kiss.  “It’s okay, cutie-pie.  Don’t feel bad about it.  As long as you feel safe now, I’m happy.”

 

Cloud swallowed and nuzzled the taller man’s neck.  “I’m okay now.”

 

“So I can get up and get a washcloth to clean us off without you panicking?” Zack inquired seriously.  He wasn’t teasing him; he was honestly concerned.

 

“Yeah, I promise I won’t freak out,” answered Cloud with a shy little smile. 

 

Zack kissed him again.  “Be right back, okay?”

 

Cloud nodded and winced a little as the black-haired fighter pulled out of his body and got out of bed.  He sighed and stared up at the ceiling, wishing he hadn’t acted like a scared child but satisfied with the way Zack had reassured him.  His body was still tingling pleasantly and the faint soreness he felt down below wasn’t so much uncomfortable as rewarding.  He never would have imagined himself being so eager to have another man’s cock inside of him but with Zack, it felt so right and so good. 

 

The object of his thoughts returned from the little bathroom a moment later, carrying a damp, soapy washcloth in one hand.  Cloud could see that he’d already cleaned off the mess on his stomach and he smiled a little as Zack got into bed and wiped him down too. 

 

“Sometimes I feel a little bad for taking you away from the women,” Cloud remarked.

 

Zack glanced at him from underneath disheveled bangs.  “Yeah?  Why’s that?”

 

“They’re missing out, for starters,” Cloud admitted with an embarrassed shrug.  “For another thing I’ll bet you’d make a pretty good father.”

 

Zack laughed softly and put the washcloth on the bedside table closest to him before lying down beside Cloud and pulling the covers over them both.  “That could really be taken the wrong way if I didn’t know you so well,” he murmured as he pulled the smaller man into his embrace.

 

“Huh?” Cloud asked, tilting his head back to look at him.  “What’s wrong with me saying you’d make a good dad?”

 

“Because you said it after I got you cleaned up,” Zack chuckled.  “Some people might think you see me as your daddy.”

 

“Oh, that’s…that’s gross,” Cloud grumbled, his mouth twisting.  “I just meant you’re really good at taking care of people, that’s all!”

 

“Don’t get worked up about it,” Zack said, still chuckling.  “I was just running off at the mouth.  Let’s not spoil the mood.”  He kissed him lightly and rubbed his back.

 

Cloud sighed and rested his cheek against the other man’s hard-muscled chest, enjoying the feel of it against his skin.  “Okay, but you brought it up.  I’ll try not to think of it.”  Zack’s hands felt good on his back and his eyes began to drift shut as the touch lulled him into a more relaxed state.

 

Zack kept rubbing his back until the blonde’s breathing was deep and even with sleep.  He whispered an endearment and reached out to click the lamp off before shutting his eyes and letting himself follow his lover into sleep.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	23. Chapter 23

“Alliance”

Chapter 23

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Rufus was still asleep when Tseng woke up.  The Wutaian sat up and stretched, then gazed down at his slumbering lover with contemplative, dark eyes.  Rufus was naked and sleeping above the covers on his stomach.  The room was a comfortable temperature, thanks to the electric heater in the corner.  Tseng ran his hand softly down Rufus’s back, stroking the line of his spine and pausing when he reached the top of the other man’s ass, where the tawny-furred tail sprouted.  Tseng smiled a little in spite of himself as he carefully stroked the appendage.  Other than the new tail and enhanced balance, Rufus seemed fine.

 

The president stirred a little in his sleep, murmuring against the pillow as Tseng stroked his tail.  Wondering how it felt to Rufus, the Turk continued to stroke it with long, soothing motions.  He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to examine it yet, because when Rufus was awake he was very self-conscious and rather temperamental.  The two of them hadn’t been intimate since the transformation either and now Tseng entertained thoughts of instigating an encounter before they had to get out of bed and start the long, hard day.

 

A soft sigh escaped Rufus’s parted lips as Tseng scratched the base of his tail gently.  The raven-haired Turk did it again, watching his lover with fascination.  A telling, faint flush spread over Rufus’s sculpted cheekbones and he sighed again with obvious pleasure.  His rear end lifted as if of its own accord and the tail lifted as well, in the manner of a common housecat getting a pleasurable scratch.

 

_~Have I discovered a new erotic zone, Koibito?~_

Tseng leaned over and brushed his lips over the shell of Rufus’s ear.  He settled his other hand on the blonde’s rump and rubbed the smooth skin with possessive leisure.  Another faint sound of pleasure escaped Rufus’s lips and Tseng kissed them while he stroked and scratched the powerful tail.  Gray eyes opened and focused on him.  The dark lashes fluttered as Rufus blinked and became aware of what was being done to him.  The president started reaching back with one hand to dislodge Tseng’s stroking one from his tail, but the Wutaian caught his wrist and held it.

 

“Just relax, Koibito,” Tseng insisted.  “You’ll have to learn to adapt to this eventually.  Part of that adaptation involves your love life.”

 

Rufus narrowed his eyes on him and opened his mouth to speak—probably to issue a warning or an order.  What came out instead was a low purr of pleasure.  The blonde looked bewildered and Tseng smiled at him. 

 

“You enjoy this, don’t you?” whispered the Turk.  “There’s no need to feel ashamed, Rufus.”

 

The blonde turned on his side a bit, revealing further proof of how the touch was affecting him.  His cock was swollen and stiff.  The Wutaian could empathize; he’d woken up with a morning erection and doing this to Rufus was only making him harden further.  There were probably some further unexplored sexual benefits to this alteration and Tseng was growing increasingly compelled to discover them.

 

“Stop your playing,” Rufus breathed unsteadily, “we don’t have time for this.”  He’d stopped fighting Tseng’s hold on his wrist, however…which meant his resolve was wavering. 

 

Tseng released the blonde’s wrist, both to check his watch and test him.  Rufus didn’t try to disengage his fondling hand and the Turk smiled subtly at his success.  “We have more than an hour before our army will go back onto the field,” he announced as he looked down at the watch on his wrist.  “That’s plenty of time to enjoy one another for a bit.”

 

Rufus’s flushed erection twitched a little and he licked his lips and closed his eyes.  “I don’t know what it could do to you if we exchange body fluids.”  He kept his voice impressively steady.

 

“The scientists have already told us that the poison leaves the system within forty-eight hours, whether it changes the host or not,” Tseng reminded him.  “If it worries you so much, I’ll refrain from giving you oral pleasure but we have plenty of condoms to protect me when you take me.”

 

“You really aren’t going to give up, are you?” Rufus murmured with annoyance.  His breath caught after he finished the sentence and he purred again.

 

Tseng’s lust burned brighter and he shook his head slowly.  “I’m afraid not, Koibito.  I want you and I intend to have you.”  He eased himself down beside Rufus, not ceasing his caress of the tail.  He laid his head on the pillow and reached down with his free hand to grasp Rufus’s cock and stroke it.  The blonde groaned softly, instinctively rocking into the touch.  Tseng kissed him, gently at first and then with greater aggression as the feel of his body and the sound of his purrs and grunts excited him further. 

 

Rufus returned the favor, stroking Tseng’s erect cock with a skilled hand and making the Wutaian sigh.  _~Well, if he insists on this and gets hurt as a result, it’s his own fault.~_  

 

Rufus didn’t truly believe his sperm could infect Tseng, but he wasn’t certain of how he’d behave during sex, given the strange things he’d already caught himself doing.  He was also uncertain of how Tseng felt about the tail, until now.  He could only hope that Reno, Rude and Cloud would be as open-minded about it.  Perhaps he could have the thing surgically removed before there was a pressing need to tell them about it.

 

 Rufus slid closer to Tseng and rolled him onto his back, covering his body with his own as he did so.  His appetite for sex was growing quickly and his self-consciousness faded as his desire grew.  He hissed through his teeth as Tseng’s scratching fingers once again hit a spot close to the base of his tail that sent a jolt of sensation not unlike prostate stimulation up his spine.  The Wutaian took note of the reaction and continued to scratch the spot, making Rufus wriggle against him and groan. 

 

They teased, kissed and fondled until Rufus decided it was time to move things along, before they ran out of time.  Once he had applied a condom and prepared Tseng, he started to position the Turk on his stomach but Tseng insisted on riding him instead.  The raven-haired man had ambitions of his own and he wanted to be in a position that would allow him to keep exploring the different effects he could get out of stroking Rufus’s tail and exercise some control over their motions.  Rufus was too aroused to question his desires and there was nothing out of the ordinary about Tseng’s choice of positions.

 

Tseng straddled the president’s thighs and guided him in, sinking down with slow, practiced ease.  They both groaned with the sensation as Rufus was sheathed to the hilt in the Turk’s body and Tseng began to rock against him.  He put his arms around him and stroked his shoulders with one hand while dragging the other down his back.  Rufus thought nothing of it until the other man’s skilled, deft fingers began to pet and graze his tail, ruffling the fur just below where the base of it met his spine.

 

Rufus sucked in a sharp breath as that damnably erotic sensation zipped up his spine and through his body again.  He thrust his hips upwards and a…sound…escaped through his clenched teeth.  He didn’t recognize it as his own voice or even human in timber and tone.  It sounded like the feral, predatory growl of a feline that had just taken down prey or mounted a mate.

 

Tseng’s swift gasp in response to the abrupt aggression was the only sign of surprise he allowed himself…at first.  He’d expected a wild reaction to it, knowing that the spot triggered pleasurable sensations for Rufus and anticipating that coupled with penetration, it would have an interesting result.  He didn’t hesitate in his curious experimentation or break his rhythm, even though he felt a thrill of danger at the inhuman sound issuing from Rufus’s throat.

 

The rolling shocks of Rufus’s continued thrusts made concentration difficult for Tseng, but he was determined to explore this new development.  His dark brows furrowed in response to almost painful pleasure as the blonde shoved home with uncanny accuracy each time.  Before he knew it, Tseng was moaning throatily.  While Rufus’s gusto wasn’t out of the ordinary, the precise angle of his thrusts was almost supernatural.  Tseng wasn’t generally one to express his pleasure in loud, vocal spurts like Reno but Rufus had a talent for bringing it out in him on a regular day.  Now it was all the Wutaian could do to keep from hollering.

 

Rufus cupped Tseng’s ass and guided the motions of his hips.  His eyes were heavy-lidded and bright as they moved against one another.  His movements became erratic as his pleasure grew and he panted a warning to Tseng that he was getting close.  He started to reach down to squeeze himself, intending to hold off the orgasm so that he could last longer, but Tseng shook his head. 

 

“Channel your energy,” Tseng instructed breathlessly. 

 

“You know I’ve never succeeded at that,” Rufus argued in an unsteady voice.

 

“Just try, Koibito.  It’s all I ask,” Tseng murmured.  He continued to stroke that sensitive place on Rufus’s tail, making his entire body sing with awareness.  There was something different about Rufus’s heavy gasps and he was curious to see if these changes could enable the president to achieve a tantric state.  Of course, they might end up starting their duties late as a result if it worked, but it wasn’t as if their people didn’t already know what to do.

 

Rufus would have been annoyed if he weren’t distracted with sexual bliss.  Tseng had been trying to teach him how to achieve tantric orgasm for years, ever since they first began sleeping together.  The Wutaian insisted that someone with Rufus’s discipline should be able to have several orgasms during an encounter before spilling himself and while he didn’t exactly heckle him about it when he didn’t succeed after the first year of training, he still encouraged him to try now and then.  Rufus wanted to do it for him.  He knew it would please his lover if he managed to pull it off and while he never said it out loud, Tseng’s approval meant something to him.

 

_~He may just have to accept that I’m not amongst the population of males that’s put together for that sort of thing.  It’s not as though there’s a high success rate.  I still conduct daily meditations and I do try, but I’m afraid he’s due for further disappointment.~_

Tseng’s deep kiss and the feel of his silken black hair brushing against his chest interrupted Rufus’s thoughts.  Damn it, he was going to come _now_ and he was sure he couldn’t avoid blowing his load.  Being the tenacious man he was, he tried to concentrate on diffusing the throbbing pressure that was growing in his pelvis, so that it wasn’t localized there.  He might not succeed at it but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to try. 

 

It started and Rufus’s hands clamped down hard on Tseng’s hips as he concentrated.  His eyes opened a moment later and his breath expulsed in a shocked moan as he stared at Tseng with amazement.  It was working.  Somehow, the stimulation of that spot on his tail helped spread the orgasmic sensation throughout his body, rather than pooling it in his pelvic area.  He felt his cock bucking inside of his lover but nothing came out of it.  Rufus’s vision blurred with pleasure and a shiver raced through him as he came from head to toe.  It wasn’t as intense as a regular climax because it was spread out, but even his scalp tingled with pleasure.

 

“Unbelievable,” the president panted, amazed that he’d finally done it, after all this time.

 

Tseng couldn’t contain the proud, sensual smile that eased over his mouth as he stroked the blonde’s hair and looked into his amazed eyes.  He purred with pleasure as he felt the rigid flesh inside of him twitch. 

 

“Well done, Koibito,” he congratulated breathlessly.  “You see?  All you needed was the proper stimulation.”  He wondered if he could have achieved the same effect if he’d thought to stimulate Rufus’s prostate during all of those other times they’d tried to make this happen.

 

“Hmmm, perhaps I should keep the tail after all,” gasped Rufus, only half-kidding.  The enthralling sensations died down as the climax tapered off and he kissed his raven-haired lover and resumed his pelvic thrusting.  Tseng’s quiet moan of delight told him that the Wutaian had no objection to the idea.

 

“I rather like the tail,” Tseng sighed, tilting his head back with pleasure as the blonde’s cock massaged him inside.  “Reno is always comparing you to a cougar, after all.  It suits you.”

 

“We’ll see,” Rufus murmured evasively.  He curled his fingers around Tseng’s erection and began to stroke it as he nibbled the Turk’s ear. 

 

A few moment’s later, Tseng arched his back and came in Rufus’s hand.  His enthusiastic moan was louder than usual and the president muffled his cry with a hard kiss while holding him tight against him with one arm.  The Wutaian squeezed Rufus’s tail reflexively, making the blonde smirk with amusement. 

 

“You certainly seem attached to that thing,” Rufus purred as his lover fell weakly against him with bliss. 

 

Tseng brushed his lips over the blonde’s jaw and cheek in a sensual glide and he didn’t dispute the observation.  Rufus lasted for another ten minutes before he came again, but he didn’t attempt to try his new trick the second time because they were going to have to get cleaned up and ready for another long day of battle and tactics.  He groaned heavily and buried his face against Tseng’s shoulder. 

 

“I trust you’ll be showing off your newly acquired skill to our kitsune soon?” Tseng guessed as he nuzzled Rufus’s hair.

 

“Didn’t we agree that sharing that little nugget with Reno would be a bad thing?” Rufus reminded him breathlessly.  “I seem to recall your horror at the thought of him finding out that you could provide orgasm without ejaculation with your oral techniques.  You feared he’d never let you sleep again.”

 

Tseng chuckled softly, remembering.  “Yes, but it’s up to you to decide if you want to share your own skills with him.”

 

“Don’t you think he’d be a bit cross to find out I’ve kept this from him for so long?” Rufus asked with a dry smirk.

 

“Not at all,” Tseng shrugged.  “You would be speaking the truth in saying that you’ve just learned how to do it.  Just keep me out of it, please.”

 

Rufus snorted.  “Coward.”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Rude stood just outside of town on a snowy hill overlooking the field below.  He was waiting for his partner to finish getting ready and silently contemplating the Deepground situation.  Reno wasn’t wrong; Genesis interested him.  He knew better than to let that interest whittle away his common sense but now that the former First was no longer an enemy—at least, Rude didn’t think he was—the bald Turk could appreciate his looks and the other little things about him that caught his interest.

 

He didn’t mind his poetry because frankly, Rude was used to being around a long-winded redhead.  He’d never told his partner that he actually found his chatter soothing, at times.  He didn’t mind his ambiguous allegiance or his enigmatic personality.  As a member of the Department of Administrative Research, he was accustomed to dealing with fickle loyalties.  Genesis’ past crimes didn’t particularly trouble him either.  He’d done too many things himself that were considered morally reprehensible to pass judgment. 

 

What _did_ bother him was that he wasn’t entirely sure just what he wanted to happen between himself and the mysterious swordsman—and he had no idea whether Genesis found him remotely attractive or not.  He didn’t deny that the man seemed comfortable around him but that wasn’t tantamount to attraction.

 

Though he was distracted with his thoughts, Rude sensed another presence behind him.  His first instinct was to draw his gun but he recognized the shape of the shadow cast on the snowy ground at his feet and he relaxed.

 

“Thinking deep thoughts?”

 

The Turk turned around to regard Genesis.  The redhead stood with his single, black wing folded against his back and he watched Rude with eyes that weren’t unlike Reno’s in their aqua shade. 

 

“You’re a quiet one,” Genesis said conversationally.  He nodded toward the town below.  “Where is your partner?  He’s usually not far from your side.”

 

“He wakes up slow,” Rude answered.  The morning sunlight faded as the winter clouds obscured it.

 

“So tell me,” Genesis murmured, “are they satisfied yet that I told them the truth?”

 

“I don’t know yet,” Rude shrugged.  “Maybe.”

 

“You don’t know because they haven’t decided, or because they haven’t told you?” Genesis persisted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 

Rude smirked.  “Both.”  He looked the other man over and he was thankful that his shades concealed his gaze.  He’d gotten away with covertly eye-humping objects of his attraction many times before, thanks to the sunglasses.  Genesis, however, narrowed his eyes at him and the Turk got the horrible feeling that he could somehow see through the shaded lenses.  A rare blush began to surface under the skin of Rude’s cheeks and he looked away and cleared his throat.

 

“You still haven’t chosen a side.”  The bald man’s comment was more of a diversionary tactic than a question or accusation.

 

“Technically, I have,” corrected Genesis.  “I’ve betrayed Weiss by providing your people with the means to deflect Deepground’s biological attacks.”

 

“What changed, to make you go against him?” Rude inquired.  “The Genesis I used to know wouldn’t have had a problem with what he’s trying to do.”

 

Genesis chuckled softly—a bitter, rueful sound.  “The Genesis you once knew was forced to re-evaluate his life.  Being rejected by one’s goddess tends to make one question the wisdom of his actions.”

 

Rude didn’t understand the explanation.  “Your goddess?”

 

“Minerva.”  Genesis nodded.  “I went to her and she rejected me.”

 

“You mean the Planet,” Rude guessed.

 

“Call her what you will,” Genesis responded, un-offended.  “We each see her our own way.”

 

Rude thought about this and nodded with agreement.  Genesis studied him silently for a moment, taking in his chiseled features and strong form.  The Turk was easy to talk to, unassuming and possessed a sense of cool control that the redhead found admirable.  Even when his helicopter was spinning out of control and he couldn’t be sure Genesis would carry him to safety, he’d remained calm.  Some might have considered Rude to be lacking in personality because of his quiet nature, controlled facial expressions and monotone voice.  Genesis found those traits fascinating, however. 

 

“The quiet ones are the most interesting,” Genesis remarked out loud.

 

Rude kept his facial expression carefully neutral.  “Interesting how?”

 

The other man smirked.  “In many different ways.”  He looked out over the fields, where the snow-smattered ground was stained with blood.  “Weiss won’t show his face in battle, you know.  To capture him, you’ll need to go to him.”

 

Rude lifted a brow.  “Knowing where he is would help.”

 

Genesis looked at him sidelong.  “I suppose it would.  Let me think about it.  This isn’t easy for me.”

 

“So you and Weiss are…?” Rude let the implying question hang, uncomfortable with making such a personal inquiry and uncertain of how Genesis would react to being asked if he was gay.

 

“Brothers,” Genesis stated.  “In all but blood.  But that isn’t what you meant, was it?”  He tilted his head and smiled a little.  “Weiss doesn’t go that way.”

 

Rude mulled it over.  _~But you do?~_

The faint smile on the redhead’s lips grew subtly, as if he could see the unasked question hidden behind Rude’s shades and he was enjoying making him guess. 

 

“Where did you vanish to?” Rude asked instead.

 

“I slept.” Genesis shrugged.  “Granted, I slept a bit longer than I intended.  I’ve missed out on other opportunities to redeem myself in the eyes of my goddess, but I’m here now.”

 

Rude shook his head and ran his hand over his smooth scalp with a grumble.  Talking to Genesis was a little like trying to decipher encrypted code.  He was sure the man made sense in his own head but even someone with Rude’s patience was hard-put to make sense of his elusive answers.

 

“I see my explanation isn’t satisfactory,” Genesis sighed.  “We can talk again some other time.  Try not to get yourself killed, in the meanwhile.” 

 

Rude’s eyebrows shot up again but the other man spread his wing and launched into the air before he could comment on the unexpected well wishing.  The Turk caught a familiar flash of red out the corner of his eye and he understood suddenly why Genesis had taken off so abruptly.  Reno was climbing the hill, swearing loudly as his foot got stuck in something concealed beneath the snow.

 

 “What, did I interrupt a sonnet or something?” Reno muttered as he made his way to Rude.  “Your bird-boy took off as soon as he saw me coming.  Think he’s scared of me?”

 

Rude shrugged.  “Maybe he just didn’t want the vocal competition.”

 

Reno punched him lightly in the arm.  Unfortunately, Rude’s the playful shove of retaliation was just a little too strong and Reno lost his balance and fell on his ass in the snow.

 

“Yo, did I touch a nerve?” Reno growled up at him with a glare.

 

Rude helped him back to his feet.  “Sorry, Red.  Didn’t mean to push you that hard.”

 

“Nah, I was off-balance,” Reno said lightly, his anger immediately vanishing as Rude’s apology mollified him.  “These shoes ain’t made for walking in the snow.  So what _did_ your fickle phoenix say to ya?”

 

“Nothing that made much sense,” Rude frowned.  “Except he hinted that he knows where Weiss is holing up.”

 

Reno watched Genesis’s form in the distance as it flew further and further away.  “Think you should tell the boss men about that?”

 

“There’s nothing to tell them,” Rude said.  “He wouldn’t tell me where he is.  He said he’d ‘think about it’.”

 

Reno snorted.  “He’s either a fucking tease or he’s blowing smoke up your ass.  Careful, big guy…if he’s a tease with info he’s probably a cock-teaser, too.”

 

Rude chose not to comment on that.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“Sir, we’ve completed testing on the formula.”

 

Reeve looked up from the map that he and the others had gathered around.  “And?” he said impatiently.  Vincent subtly squeezed his hand beneath the table, silently bidding patience. 

 

“Genesis was telling the truth,” explained the scientist.  “None of the lab specimens have exhibited any symptoms from the gas exposure we subjected them to.  There are some mild side effects to the vaccine, however.  A few of the rats vomited some time after getting the injection.”

 

“A significant number?” Questioned Reeve.  “We can’t have half of our fighters puking on the field.”

 

“No sir,” answered the woman.  “Only three of the twenty we tested on showed signs of nausea, and the symptoms faded after a few hours.  So far it’s been the only side effect we’ve seen.”

 

Reeve exchanged looks with Rufus, Cloud and the others.  “Well, what do you all think?  Should we start producing and distributing?”

 

“If a little queasiness is the only side effect, I don’t see why not,” answered the president.

 

“Speak for yourself, bossman,” Reno said with a twist to his lips.  “Once I start blowing chunks, I can’t stop.  I’ll stick with the mask.”

 

“And if your mask slips?” Rufus pointed out coolly.  “While I think a fox’s tail and set of ears would look fabulous on you, are you willing to die or be reduced to a primitive state of mind?”

 

Reno’s expression went through an interesting series of changes.  At the mention of animal body parts, he looked confused.  The possibility of death made him grimace and finally, the mention of behavioral changes caused an odd look of delight to brighten his face.

 

“I don’t think the last part would be as fun as you think,” Cloud whispered into Reno’s ear when he noticed the intrigued expression on his face.  “Even with five of us you probably wouldn’t get enough.”  Reno would be like a fox in heat if he got a dose of the same symptoms that Zack had endured. 

 

Reno sobered and he shrugged at Rufus.  “Guess you’re right, Sir.  Don’t know why you think the gas would make parts grow based on a guy’s personality, though.  I mean, Fair would have a bushy wolf’s tail instead of a set of wings if that was the case, right?”

 

“Zackary was given controlled treatment,” reminded Tseng.  “They had a particular goal in mind with him.  The gas triggers mutations and behavioral disorders based on genetics and personality.”

 

Reno narrowed his eyes at Tseng suspiciously.  He hadn’t heard anyone on the research team say that about the gas and the Wutaian seemed to be in cahoots with Rufus to hide something from the rest of them.  Rufus had been acting odd since the first day of combat and Reno wondered again what could have happened that the two of them were hiding. 

 

“What’s going on…Sir?” Reno demanded.

 

“What’s ‘ _going on_ ’ is that one of my subordinates isn’t cooperating with efforts to keep him safe,” Tseng said coolly, “and he’s wasting time at this table when we should be concluding this meeting and joining our fighters on the battlefield.”

 

The silence in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.  Reno held Tseng’s gaze for a moment later before looking away.  “Sorry, boss,” the redhead muttered.

 

“So everybody’s getting this shot?” Barret asked.

 

“It will take a while to immunize the entire army,” Vincent predicted.  “I presume the research team will produce as much of it as they can, as quickly as they can and set up a rotation for our people to get their injections.”

 

“We’ll go by roles,” Rufus said.  “Those who are fighting in the front lines and the medical teams should be immunized first, as they’re the first to be exposed to the gas weapons.  Those fighting from the air and from a distance will be next and those in charge of communications will go last.”

 

“Wait a minute,” Zack said with a frown.  “Which one am I?  I kind of do my fighting in the air _and_ on the front lines.”

 

“You’ll be counted as a front-line fighter,” Rufus said.  Reeve and Tseng nodded in agreement.  “Considering most of your aerial tactics involve swooping in for quick melee attacks, it makes the most sense.”

 

“Great,” Zack said enthusiastically.  His expression changed to wariness as he looked at the scientist.  “Uh, this shot isn’t going to make me wolf out again, is it?  I mean, don’t most vaccines work by putting a little of the disease in you to build up an immunity?”

 

“That’s true of viral vaccinations,” she nodded, “but this isn’t the same thing.  It isn’t a disease so much as a genetic enhancer that triggers cellular mutations, depending on the host’s DNA makeup.  The genetics determine whether you survive it and if you do, how it affects you.”

 

“So that’s a ‘no’, right?” Zack said.

 

“You’ll be fine,” the scientist said with amusement.

 

“I _hate_ shots,” Yuffie complained.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 


	24. Chapter 24

“Alliance”

Chapter 24

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed in the huge cavern.  People with glowing eyes, inhuman appendages varying from tails to claws to wings parted in the wake of the black and red-clad man.  He walked calmly through their ranks, wearing the bored expression of one that knew he was better than all of them.  He stopped before an un-natural formation of limestone and raw materia to look at the figure sitting upon it as a king would sit upon a throne.

 

“Hello, my brother.”

 

The powerfully built Tsviet raised his head to regard the visitor through wild, tangled locks of silver hair.  His glacier-blue eyes were intense and volatile.  He wore pants and a tunic of gray leather that fit close to his body but was supple enough for easy movement.

 

“Have you decided to join our cause and fight with us, Genesis?”  His voice was cold and hollow, echoing what he felt inside now that he’d been used and discarded by Hojo.

 

Genesis shook his head.  “You know I won’t do that.”

 

“The Planet wills that the weak be cleansed!” Weiss growled.  “You know it’s either _them_ or it’s _us_.  There can be no compromise.  How can you oppose us?”

 

“I don’t know which ear you’ve been listening to the goddess with,” Genesis murmured, “but I’m hearing something different.  She doesn’t want this.”

 

“We’re monsters,” argued the Tsviet, “we can’t fit in this world as it is.  We have to change it for our survival.”

 

The feathers on the redhead’s wing ruffled slightly with agitation.  “Yes, we are ‘monsters’,” agreed Genesis, “but changing the world to suit us would only make us more so.  Our burden is to learn to find our own place in this world…not spread our monstrosity to make it easier.”

 

Weiss shrugged.  “I disagree.  If you didn’t come to help, then why _did_ you come?”

 

“I came to reason with you, one last time.”  Genesis frowned.  “The alliance is too strong.  Even if you send your flyers out, it’s only a matter of time before your opposition wins.  Your mutation canisters are failing because your enemies anticipated biological weapons and they came prepared.  Even now, they’re working to immunize their ranks from it.”

 

Weiss’s hands curled into fists.  “And how would they manage to immunize, _brother_?  I can’t believe they just happened to come up with the formula on their own.  The WRO scientists aren’t _that_ good.  Was it you?  Did you tell them how to do it?”

 

“Call off your army and surrender now, before it’s too late,” Genesis said evenly.  His aqua eyes held the pale, angry ones that were fixed on him.  “I’m trying to do you a favor, Weiss.  You once fought to free your brethren and give them a better life.  What you’re doing now isn’t what you wanted…it’s a symptom of Hojo’s desires and you’re free of him, now.  You can get help from the same people you’re fighting now, but not if you keep going until you’re all destroyed.”

 

“The dogs we’re fighting now are responsible for all of this!” Weiss shouted in a sudden rage, standing up.  His followers grew restless, murmuring amongst themselves and eying Genesis dangerously. 

 

Genesis narrowed his eyes on him.  Weiss was still weak.  It would take several more months for him to recover from his ordeal…if he fully recovered at all. 

 

“No,” Genesis disagreed, shaking his head slowly.  “They aren’t.  The ones who did this to us are long gone, brother.  The people you’re fighting against now weren’t responsible for or aware of the Deepground project, the G-project or the S-project.  If you must blame someone for what was done to you, then blame me.  It was because of the loss of myself and Sephiroth that the former President desired a new, better breed of SOLDIER.”

 

“You always were too arrogant for your own good,” Weiss snarled, his body trembling with anger and fatigue.  “You place more importance on yourself than you’re worth and your words are twisted.”

 

Genesis cocked his head to one side thoughtfully.  “Funny, I thought I was speaking plainly.  I’m beginning to think people just aren’t listening.”

 

 “I’ve heard enough from you,” said Weiss.  His eyes scanned the faces of the host of Deepground fighters he had yet to send into battle and Genesis guessed what was coming.

 

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” the redhead warned, his pleasant demeanor dropping.

 

“You’ve betrayed us,” Weiss said with a glare.  He gave a nod and the others surrounded Genesis, closing in on him.

 

The redhead drew his sword and started on the defensive, spinning the ruby blade and deflecting attacks on all sides.  He quickly lost patience when one of his attacker’s claw weapons made it past his guard and gashed his arm, drawing blood and more importantly, tearing the leather sleeve of his jacket.  Genesis reached inward and tapped his powers.  He spread the fingers of his left hand and loosed a volley of explosive, fiery darts into the crowd, blowing several of his attackers off their feet and setting some on fire.  He knocked others away with a powerful sweep of his wing and slashed still more of them with the sword he held in his right hand.

 

He now had space to launch an offensive.  Angered by the damage to the only clothing he currently owned, Genesis demonstrated that no matter how refined and elegant he strove to be since discovering his love for literature, he could still be crass when angered. 

 

“Fuck _this_.”

 

Genesis laid into his opponents, the red flash of his sword growing redder with the bright blood of those he’d once thought of as his allies.  His left foot snapped up and kicked one unfortunate man in the face, but he got off easy compared to the operative behind him, who copped an eviscerating slash to his stomach.  Several fighters tried to rush in behind Genesis but he sensed them coming and without looking at them, he turned his body to the side and threw his left hand out to give them another taste of his fire.

 

Weiss watched with mounting tension as Genesis cut his followers down like wheat.  Still, the redhead was vastly outnumbered and it was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed.

 

Genesis didn’t give them the chance.  He bent his legs and leaped into the air, flying over the heads of his opposition.  Before any of the operatives capable of the same feat could follow, the redhead dove straight for Weiss and the Tsviet found himself staring down the length of Genesis’s bloodied red sword.

 

“Call them off,” Genesis ordered, baring his teeth in a snarl.  His eyes were flashing with anger, leaving little doubt that he’d only extend mercy to his “brother” for so long.

 

Weiss was unstable in his bitterness and confusion, but he wasn’t a fool.  “Stand down.”

 

The Deepground forces backed off, giving Genesis and their leader a wide berth.

 

“Rest your legs now, brother,” instructed the redhead.

 

Weiss sank back into his limestone seat, his eyes never leaving the other man’s face. 

 

Genesis’s sculpted features relaxed a little and there was a hint of regret in his aqua gaze.  “I would have preferred to do this without further bloodshed, but you refuse to cooperate,” he murmured.  “I’m going to take my leave now, and if any of your followers try to stop me I _will_ send my flames for you and you won’t escape them.  I’ll give you one day to reconsider my proposal, brother.”

 

Weiss glared at him but he ordered his followers to let him go.  With one last, hard look at the Tsviet, Genesis launched into the air and flew out of the cavern.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

The alliance forces still had the upper hand and they were slowly beating Deepground back again.  The WRO produced vaccinations as quickly as they could and began to conduct the distribution rotation.  Regiments were called off the field to go to the way camp, get immunized and return to battle so that the next group could do the same.  They still had to wear their masks because the research team estimated it would take a little over twelve hours for the immunity to kick in.

 

Reeve insisted that Vincent be the very first to get the vaccination.

 

“The other fighters are just as important as I am,” argued Vincent with a pointed look at the queue of soldiers lined up outside the medical tent.

 

“I’m not sleeping with the other fighters,” Reeve said lightly, then in a more serious tone, he added; “And the other fighters don’t have the ability to change into various demonic forms.  Provided it doesn’t kill you, what do you think would happen if you were to get a dose of the nasty gas, Vincent?  Imagine your conscious mind being crippled, leaving only primal desires to drive you.”

 

Vincent’s ruby gaze unfocused and a grim expression came over his marble features.  “You make a compelling argument, Reeve.  Very well, I’ll take the vaccination now.”

 

The gunman followed his lover into the medical tent and voiced no complaint as he was given the injection.  When it was done, he pulled his mask over his mouth and nose and looked into his lover’s eyes again.

 

“Remember, keep off the field.  I don’t even want Cait Sith out there.”

 

“People are going to think you’re overly protective, you know,” the engineer murmured as Vincent turned to leave.

 

The gunman looked at him over his shoulder and Reeve could tell by his ruby eyes that he was smiling faintly behind his mask. 

 

“They wouldn’t be wrong about that,” replied Vincent.  He walked out then, leaving Reeve smirking a little with fond exasperation.  He wasn’t a fighter and he knew it.  His mind and his power of invention were the strongest weapons at his disposal, and Vincent wanted to keep him and his inventive mind as far away from danger as possible.  Still, it rankled the engineer at times that he couldn’t be at his lover’s side, watching his back.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

By early afternoon, Deepground ran out of ground-to-air missiles and just when the allied forces thought there were no more obstacles to get in the way of their aerial fighters, a host of one-winged and hoverboard-mounted enemies rose from somewhere in the North, behind enemy lines.

 

 “What the shit?” Reno blurted over the radio receiver as he saw the new threat. 

 

“It seems they aren’t without avian forces after all,” Tseng’s voice said over the comm. unit.

 

“Dammit!” Cid swore.  “They must have been keeping ‘em in reserve until they ran out of ground fire!  How are you boys doing on ammo?”

 

“We’re out of missiles,” reported Rude.  “Still plenty of artillery, though.”

 

“Rockets wouldn’t do much good against such small targets anyhow,” President Shinra observed.  “All aircrafts, reserve explosives and let our people on the ground worry about the army down there.  Concentrate on taking out the aerial threat and cover one another for retreat when a return to Icicle is required for refueling or reloading.”

 

In their helicopter, Tseng looked at his lover with concern.  He’d been reluctant for Rufus to join the fight today even though he seemed healthy and perfectly capable of using the weapon system.  Rufus was a leader and regardless of his marksmanship, his place wasn’t in the thick of combat with the rest of them.

 

“Sir, perhaps I should take you back to Icicle where it’s safer,” the Turk leader suggested.

 

Rufus shifted in his seat, trying to get his tail positioned so that he wasn’t sitting directly on it.  “Concentrate on flying and shooting, Tseng.  I’m not going back unless it’s an emergency and we need every aircraft at our disposal fighting this new threat off.”

 

Tseng sighed and made as if to do as he was told.  When Rufus took his eyes off of him and started adjusting the targeting visor to focus on the new threat, the Wutaian did something that he knew he was going to suffer for later.  The moment he had a clear shot, Tseng took careful aim and hit Rufus on the back of his stubborn head.  His martial skills paid off and he put just enough force behind the blow to knock Rufus unconscious without causing anything worse than a mild headache later, when he regained consciousness.

 

“Forgive me, Koibito,” the Wutaian muttered as his lover crumpled soundlessly in his seat.  “You’re too important for this.”

 

With a heavy sigh and the knowledge that he risked execution at Rufus’s hands later, Tseng turned his chopper around and started back toward Icicle.  Reno’s voice broke in on the private channel they shared.

 

“Yo, where are you going?” the redhead’s tone was concerned.  “Tseng, is everything all right with you and the Boss?”

 

“Everything is fine, Reno,” assured the Turk leader grimly.  “I’m taking the president back to Icicle.  Once I’ve secured him there, I’ll refuel, reload and come back with another co-pilot.”

 

There was a moment of silence before the radio crackled and Reno spoke again.  “Something tells me the boss ain’t agreeing to this.”

 

“You’re correct,” Tseng confirmed.  “I’ve made him take a little nap.  He has no place risking himself this way and he wouldn’t listen to reason, so I’m making an executive decision for his own safety.”

 

More silence, and then: “You _know_ he’s gonna skin you alive and make a new coat out of you for this, don’t ya?”

 

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.  Concentrate on the fight and worry about what will happen to me later, when we all make it through this alive.”

 

Back in their helicopter, Reno and Rude looked at one another, both silently agreeing with Tseng that Rufus shouldn’t be in the middle of the danger but knowing that once the president’s mind was made up about something, changing it was like moving mountains.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Keep an eye out up above,” Cloud shouted to his comrades as the Deepground air fighters drew closer.  “Anybody with long-range sniping weapons, take shots at them whenever you can!”

 

Vincent, Barret and all of the other fighters within hearing range that were equipped to do as Cloud asked kept one eye on the ground opposition and the other on the sky.  Zack was too far away to hear the order but he’d heard the radio transmission announcing that air fighters were incoming and he held onto his sword with one hand and drew one of his guns from his thigh holsters with the other. 

 

“Little closer,” the black-haired fighter coaxed the distant flyers under his breath.  “Come to Daddy and get your surprise, kiddies.”  He stopped in his tracks and frowned.  “Or something less twisted sounding,” he muttered with a quick look around to see if anyone looked like they’d heard.  He imagined if they did, he’d be getting a disgusted look from them.  Honestly, he didn’t know where he came up with half the stupid shit that flew out of his mouth.  Thankfully his fellow combatants were too busy shooting or melee fighting to pay attention to his rambling.

 

_~Brain, connect to mouth.  No more stupid speeches, okay?  Or at least stop talking out loud before you make a giant ass of yourself, got it?  Got it.  Good.~_

He forgot his embarrassment when enemy gunfire struck the ground at his feet.  He leaped away and searched for the responsible party.  After a moment he shook his head and grimaced.  There were too many of the enemy ground forces aiming guns at his people for him to pick out a single responsible target and retaliate. 

 

He considered rushing into melee again but considering he was the only fighter in the allied forces capable of flying without a machine, he chose to pull back and wait for the air-born enemies to arrive.  With Cloud and the others there, his presence or lack thereof wouldn’t make much of a difference against the ground forces but the choppers and airships above couldn’t perform delicate maneuvers—with the exception of Reno. 

 

Of all of them, the redhead’s piloting skills might enable more refined attacks against the small human targets coming their way but for the most part, it was probably going to be like trying to kill a swarm of wasps by swatting at them.  They’d surely take a few of them out but not before they suffered dozens of stings.

 

~Funny…not a single one of them has more than one wing.  Am I really the only one that got two?~

 

The host of Deepground aerial fighters began to fly past overhead and Zack forced himself to be patient and wait for the bulk of them to go by.  Meanwhile, some of the allied ground forces around him started firing at them with long-range weapons while the front line continued to concentrate on the ground ranks.  He could tell which shots Barret, who was several yards away from him, fired.  He winced in unwilling sympathy as one of the winged Deepground operatives was hit by a mass of machine gun fire that literally tore his wing to shreds.  The unfortunate fighter plummeted to the ground but he probably didn’t feel it when he hit, because Barret’s shots blew his body full of holes as well.

 

Familiar canisters were dropped into the ranks of the allied forces as the enemy force flew overhead and people checked their masks hastily.  Less than half had gone through the vaccine rotation and even those that had still needed the masks until the immunization took effect.  Zack checked his mask too as the battlefield was obscured by a massive fog of green vapors.  He heard someone beside him choking and he turned to find a young WRO fighter clutching at her neck.  There was a tear in her mask that had allowed the gas to get through.

 

Zack caught her and lowered her to the ground.  Since her mask was useless now, he tore it off her face, took a deep breath and pulled his own mask off to secure it over her mouth and nose.  He couldn’t talk to her without wasting his breath and inhaling the vapor himself so he just nodded at her as she struggled to breathe.  He spotted Cloud driving Fenrir his way as the blonde checked on the ranks and he stood up to wave wildly at him.  Thankfully, the other fighter saw the motion and he pulled Fenrir up to his side.

 

“Where the hell is your _mask_?!” Cloud hollered with alarm.  The ShinRa helicopters and WRO airships began to fire on the Deepground flyers overhead, drowning out part of his sentence with their powerful guns.

 

Zack pointed at the gasping young woman on the ground, then to her ruined mask lying beside her.  He couldn’t hold his breath much longer and he looked around for a patch of clear air to fly to.  Cloud quickly popped open a compartment on his bike and pulled out a spare mask.

 

“Here, put it on!” yelled the blonde.

 

Zack took the mask thankfully and fit it over his head, strapping it securely before taking a breath.  “Whew!  Thanks, buddy!  I didn’t know what else to do…couldn’t just leave her choking like that!”

 

“She already inhaled it and you put yourself at risk anyway?” Cloud asked, his expression behind his mask visibly thunderous. 

 

Zack shrugged, feeling a little foolish.  “Damsel in distress, man.  You know me.”

 

Cloud shook his head at him but his eyes had softened fondly.  He shouted orders out, motioning for the back ranks to come and get the woman to take her to the way camp for observation and treatment.  When they came and got her, Cloud scanned the ranks with his eyes before regarding Zack again.

 

“Just be more careful,” the blonde said.

 

Zack saluted him with a grin and looked up at the skies.  “Well, they’ve passed over us, so that’s my cue to get busy.  You be careful too, featherhead.”  With that said, he bunched powerful thigh muscles and leaped into the air, snapping his wings out to catch the vapor-polluted currents.  Cloud watched him go with faint worry but there was nothing he could do to stop him.  Zack was the only one of the ground team that could fight those flyers in the air…unless Vincent happened to transform into Chaos—and _nobody_ really wanted that.

 

He’d completely forgotten about Yuffie and the other WRO’s that had come into the battle on hoverboards.  He was shocked into remembering about them when the young ninja girl sped past him with a wild yell.  She swerved up into the sky after Zack with a handful of other fighters following her.

 

Now Cloud was the one feeling foolish.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Tseng ordered the troops guarding the perimeter of Icicle to refuel and reload his chopper and find him another co-pilot while he carried Rufus into town, slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  He ignored the wide-eyed, questioning looks people gave him and he made his way through town to the Inn.  There were Turks, ShinRa troops and WRO operatives all over town, stationed there for protection in case Deepground tried to move in on Icicle while the bulk of their forces were fighting on the field.   

 

“Take him to our room and have the door and windows guarded,” the Turk leader ordered when a couple of nearby ShinRa troops.  “Do _not_ , under any circumstance, let him leave until our people and the enemy have cleared the field for the day.  Is that understood?”  He panted softly, trying to catch his breath from the exertion of hurrying into town carrying a full-grown man.  Rufus wasn’t built heavily but limp as he was, his deadweight wasn’t easy to carry for long.

 

They took the unconscious president from him but they didn’t immediately carry him inside.  “Sir, has something happened to President Shinra that’s affecting his judgment or loyalties?” the one on the left inquired warily.

 

“No,” answered Tseng between labored breaths.  “He isn’t a security threat to anyone except for himself.”

 

“You’re asking us to hold the president hostage in his own room!” the other trooper pointed out in a scandalized tone.

 

“I’m not asking,” Tseng said with a hard look.  “I’m _telling_ you.  His safety is compromised on that field and part of our first duty is to protect him, understood?  I’ll take full responsibility, so you needn’t worry about being the target of his ire.”

 

The two troopers glanced at one another but they didn’t argue with him.  “Remember, have _all_ the windows to that room watched,” Tseng reiterated as they carried Rufus inside.  “In fact, have the entire perimeter of the Inn guarded,” he added after a moment’s thought as he remembered a few months ago when Rufus had been kidnapped and held for ransom.  The resourceful man had somehow gotten into the warehouse ventilation system to evade his captors while his people worked to rescue him and Tseng had no doubt that he’d find some way to get out of the Inn if he was given the chance.

 

 _~It’s really no wonder that his genetic build responded to the Deepground vapor by giving him a cat’s tail.  He certainly has a feline knack for escapes and defying death.~_  

 

~****************************~

* * *

 

Zack came up behind the Deepground flyers, totally unaware that he had any backup joining him.  Like Cloud, he’d forgotten that some of the WRO ground operatives were fighting on hoverboards.  They hadn’t been using them because they didn’t want to get in the way of the aircraft fire but now they joined him to flank the enemy air ranks.

 

Zack knew he was taking the risk of getting hit with friendly fire as he closed the distance and picked out his targets.  Cid, Reno and their fellow pilots had opened fire on them and more than once, Zack felt a bullet whiz by him.  His body armor would probably deflect most lethal hits but his wings were unprotected.  Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, he activated the Barrier materia he had equipped before taking aim with his gun.  His target was the hoverboard that one of the enemies was riding but he knew his chances of actually hitting the thing weren’t very good until he got closer.  So far, none of the flying opposition had noticed him.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Vincent saw Yuffie and the others take off and he chose to join them, reasoning that his extra firepower would help cut down on the air opposition.  As he kicked his hoverboard into gear and prepared to follow, he heard Tifa shouting something to his left.  He looked in her direction and saw the fear in her wide brown eyes as she rushed towards him and he realized she was warning him.  He turned and readied his weapon but before he could aim at the wild-eyed, heavy-built enemy rushing at him, he felt a blinding pain in the right side of his belly and back.

 

Vincent looked down with detached surprise to see the cold blue glow of metal piercing his torso.  The Deepground operative had impaled him with some sort of Mako-enhanced spear.  The sheer force of the blow and the enhancement were what allowed it to pierce his body armor.  His fingers were already tingling with numbness as he began to raise Cerberus to shoot his attacker.  Blood welled in his mouth and trickled down into his mask as his vision blurred.

 

Tifa threw herself at the man that had speared her friend, aiming a flying kick at his head.  The Deepground operative turned to look just in time to see the sole of her shoe coming at him and he had no time to dodge the attack.  He dropped the spear impaling the gunman and staggered dazedly.  Tifa didn’t give him a chance to recover from her attack.  She laid into him with everything she had and screamed for Cloud and Barret as Vincent began to collapse.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Barret heard the barmaid’s desperate shouts first, as he was closer to her than Cloud was.  He paused in his shooting and looked over his shoulder in the direction of her voice and his mouth dropped open when he saw that Vincent was run-through and Tifa was fighting the man that had done it.  The coal miner quickly transformed his gun back into a biomechanical hand and ran toward his friends, adjusting his headphone set as he did so.

 

“Yo Spiky, Vincent’s down!” Barret announced over the channel they shared.  In the distance, he heard the roar of Fenrir’s engine and he knew the fighter had heard him.  He reached Vincent’s side and put an arm around him to hold him up, not wanting to risk the spear driving backwards back into his flesh as he fell to the earth.

 

Tifa took a couple of hits that made her cry out but in the end, the barmaid’s rage and concern for her comrade lent her the extra strength she needed to defeat her opponent.  She knocked the operative’s feet out from under him and followed him down, wrapping her thighs around his thick neck and squeezing with all her might.  She felt his neck snap and his struggles abruptly ceased.  She released him and rolled away, getting to her feet and joining Barret at Vincent’s side.

 

“Can’t pull it out from the front,” Barret said to her with a nod at the spear’s head, which was hanging out the gunman’s back.  “It’s barbed and it’ll tear him up more if we try!”

 

Cloud was speeding toward them but he was forced to swerve as an explosion went off from a hurtled grenade.  He clenched his teeth and fought to maintain control over Fenrir as he wobbled.  He succeeded in the brief struggle and he made it to the others and dropped the kickstand before hopping off and rushing to help.

 

“Shit,” Cloud swore when he saw how serious it was.  There were bits of torn flesh and body armor hanging off the jagged spearhead.  “We’re going to have to pull this out from the back before we can try to heal him.  Do either of you have a Cure materia?”

 

“Mine’s cracked,” Tifa said in a shaken voice.

 

“Don’t have one,” Barret rumbled.  “There weren’t enough to go ‘round.”

 

Cloud swore again.  He’d expended the last of his Cure materia’s energy earlier that morning and it was dead, now.  “Okay, let’s work on getting this thing out of him first.  I’ve got a hi-potion left for emergencies and I’ll use it on him once we work the spear free.”

 

“How we gonna do this?” Barret asked with a frown.  Vincent wasn’t making so much as a groan of complaint but he was even paler than normal and his head was drooping as he began to lose consciousness. 

 

Cloud thought about it for a moment.  “Barret, you hold him up.  I’ll pull from the back and Tifa can push from the front.”

 

Both of them nodded and Cloud circled quickly around behind their injured friend.  They ignored the screams of the dying, the clashing metal and the gunfire around them as they worked to help Vincent.  Cloud gripped the shaft of the spear on his side, his gloves helping to keep his hands from slipping on the blood-slick metal.  Tifa did the same on her side and waited for the blonde’s signal.

 

“On three,” Cloud said, “One…two… _three!_ ”

 

He pulled, Tifa pushed, and the Barret braced Vincent.  The weapon slid slowly through Vincent’s body and out the back.  Tifa had to let go when the bottom half of the shaft reached his abdomen and she helped Barret support the gunman while Cloud did the rest himself.  The blood flowed rapidly once the spear was out and Cloud tossed it to the ground and helped his friends lower Vincent’s body down.  The gunman heaved a wet cough from behind his mask and regarded Cloud with dazed, dilated eyes.

 

“It’s okay, Vincent,” Cloud muttered as he fumbled through his gear for his remaining potion.  “Just hang in there, all right?”  He felt the smooth vial against his fingers as he dug through the pouch strapped around his waist and he pulled it out and tore the cork out of it.

 

“I don’t think he can drink,” Tifa warned as Vincent coughed up more blood.  “Even if he could, we’d have to take his mask off and expose him to the gas.”

 

“I’m not going to make him try,” Cloud assured her.  He poured the potion directly into the frightful, open wound and watched anxiously as it closed a little bit.  “It’s slowed the blood loss but we’ve got to get him to a medic for real help.  Help me get him onto Fenrir.”

 

Vincent finally released a faint groan of pain as they half-carried him to Cloud’s bike and helped in onto it in front of the blonde.  Cloud ignored the wetness of his friend’s blood soaking into his clothes and he started the engine.  Without wasting any time, he kicked Fenrir into gear and drove away from the battle as quickly as he could without jarring his injured companion.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

Zack’s first shot hit the rider in the back of his calf instead of the hoverboard.  Blood spurted and the man shouted in pain and lost control of his vehicle, spinning to the ground out of control. 

 

“Oops,” muttered the black-haired fighter as he watched the hapless victim crash to his death.  “Well, I got him and that’s what counts.”

 

Of course, the abrupt descent of their comrade alerted the flyers closest to him and they looked behind them and spotted Zack.  The expression of alarm on their faces made Zack feel pretty good about himself and his intimidating presence.  When a shot rang out from somewhere behind him and one of the alarmed opponents got hit, he realized someone on his team was behind him and his opponents weren’t as impressed with him as he’d thought.  He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw about a dozen WRO operatives on hoverboards, with Yuffie Kisaragi in the lead. 

 

Zack shrugged with good humor as his ego deflated and he shot again as one of the winged enemies spun in the air and came at him.  His first shot missed entirely and ended up glancing off another Deepground soldier’s hoverboard, making it wobble but not disabling it.  His second shot actually hit the target but not where he intended.  It struck the shoulder guard instead, knocking it askew but doing no harm to its owner.

 

_~Screw it…this thing’s not doing me any good.~_

Zack replaced the gun in its holster and got his sword ready as the enemy wingman closed the distance.  More comfortable now that he was wielding his weapon of choice, the sable-haired fighter twisted in the air and slashed at his opponent, knocking aside the metallic claws that the other man tried to hit him with.  He whirled and slashed with lightning speed and he was impressed when his opponent blocked his attacks with the claw weapons.  The sky and ground spun crazily as the two of them wheeled through the air and fought.  A bullet streaked past Zack’s leg and glanced off the Barrier shield he’d erected around his body.  He growled, realizing some of his opponent’s allies were breaking away from the group to join him.

 

Yuffie’s group quickly evened the odds with a hail of return gunfire and Yuffie threw a large, circular blade, taking someone’s head off.  Zack saw the decapitated head drop past him from the corner of his eye and he silently applauded the ninja’s skill.  He briefly saw her draw her customary, oversized shuriken next and he was glad she carried extra throwing weapons. 

 

His concerns for Yuffie’s situation distracted him enough for his opponent to get past his guard and Zack would have suffered a nasty cut if it weren’t for the barrier still protecting him.  Giving himself a mental kick and bemoaning his instinctive urge to protect females, Zack retaliated with gusto.  The ground was rushing closer and closer and it occurred to him for the first time that he and his enemy were in peril of meeting a crushing end together.

 

Deciding he was better off pulling himself out of danger before continuing the fight, Zack spread his wings all the way out and caught the air currents, angling back up and flapping to gain altitude faster.  Unfortunately for his opponent, he was the only one of the two of them that had realized the danger.  Zack cringed as the other winged man failed to pull up in time and crashed to the ground hard enough to carve a groove in the snowy earth.  The black-haired fighter stopped climbing and hovered for a moment, staring down at the sprawled, broken figure below.  The claw-wielder wasn’t moving.

 

Zack heaved a sigh of disappointment and looked up to get his bearings again.  Yuffie and her companions were in a full-fledged battle against some of the Deepground flying troops, while the rest of the enemy air teams had broken away and were going after the alliance aircrafts.  Zack himself seemed to have been forgotten in the fray and he snorted, half-offended that none of them had come after him.

 

His annoyance only lasted as long as it took him to spot one of the ShinRa choppers being swarmed by several enemy flyers. One of the occupants—the copilot—had opened his door and he was leaning out and shooting at the enemies that were trying to sabotage the craft.  Zack caught a glimpse of a pair of shades and a bald, light brown head and he realized it whose chopper it was.  He flew toward it as quickly as he could to help, hoping that this time, the chopper wouldn’t end up going down.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

“Yo, I’ve seen birds bring down choppers and airships before but this is ridiculous!”  Reno hollered as he did his best to shake the pesky attackers off of his chopper.  “Get these pigeons off our ride, partner!”

 

“What do you think I’m _trying_ to do?” Rude grunted, but his response was lost in the noise of the wind and rotaries.  He got one of the attackers in the throat before they could tear some wires loose from the front of the helicopter.  He allowed himself a little smirk of victory as his victim fell free of the chopper, but there were six more Deepground operatives still clinging to, slashing at or shooting at the aircraft.

 

Reno grabbed hold of his targeting control stick and snarled at the closest face peering in at him from the front windshield.  “Ya picked the wrong spot to perch, shithead.”  The machine gun on his side rotated and angled up with his guidance, pointing right at the enemy.  Reno bared his teeth in a feral smile as he pressed the trigger button to shoot a short, quick burst of bullets at his target.  Blood sprayed over the window and the redhead clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in annoyance.  Now he couldn’t see through his side of the window.

 

Reno turned on the wiper blades and grimaced a little as the gory mess smeared.  A bullet hole appeared at the top of the pilot-side door’s window and Reno cursed and hunkered down.  Rude could only lean out and twist so much without undoing his safety harness and with all the chaos happening around them, he couldn’t risk it.  Reno twisted in his seat and looked for the source of the bullet hole.  He spotted a winged Deepground fighter inching along the side of the chopper.  She was holding on with one hand and aiming right at him with her gun while using the front landing wheel as a foothold, ready to fire another shot. 

 

Reno abruptly yanked the handle of his door and pulled it open.  He twisted in his seat nimbly and kicked the woman in the face several times.  As tough as she was due to Mako enhancements, the blows were enough to daze her and make her drop her weapon.  Without hesitation, Reno yanked his gun out of the confines of his blazer and shot her right between the eyes.  She fell off and as she spiraled limply down and he pulled himself back in and slammed the door shut.  Rude was still leaning out his door and shooting at any attackers that dared to move within his visual range.  He shook his head after a moment and leaned back in, slamming his door shut.

 

“Doesn’t look good,” Rude announced. 

 

Reno cursed in frustration and started to consider trying to land the helicopter before the Deepground rats still tearing into it did enough damage to make them crash.  He turned to face the front and pushed the wiper fluid button to help the blades clear up his side of the window.  No sooner did he do that than there was a flurry of unexpected movement and a heavy thump as something landed on the nose of the chopper.  A very fine, very familiar ass clad in deep blue combat pants pressed against the window right in front of Reno’s face.  The Turk stared stupidly for a moment, wondering why Zack Fair’s tight butt was polishing his window.  The black-haired fighter rolled away while both Turks gaped with surprise, his wings slapping against the metal surface of the chopper’s nose, and the answer was suddenly made clear. 

 

Zack was grappling with one of the winged Deepground fighters, right there in front of the window.  The former Soldier was struggling to keep the other man from using his own sword against him and Reno was just about to open his door again to help when Zack head-butted his opponent.  Another spray of blood painted the window as the fighter reclaimed his sword and slashed open his enemy’s chest with a violent swing.  He followed up with a thrust and stabbed the other man through the heart, before heaving him off the chopper.

 

Zack rolled onto his stomach and looked through the window at Reno.  “You take out the hovering ones while I knock these vultures off, okay?” the fighter yelled.

 

“What?” Reno shouted back, lifting the headphones from his ears and shaking his head.

 

Zack motioned out to the left, pointing at the Deepground fighters that were pacing the chopper on their hoverboards and trying to shoot at it.  He made a shooting gesture at them with his fingers and he pointed at Reno and Rude.  He then pointed to himself and his sword and made a wide gesture encompassing the chopper before pointing at his own wings.

 

“I got it,” Rude said.  He grabbed his targeting stick and started shooting at the hovering fighters on his side.

 

“Oh yeah,” Reno muttered, quickly following his example.  Zack rolled again as a bullet ricocheted off the nose of the chopper and narrowly missed him.  Reno felt a flash of concern for him but when he saw that he was okay, he shooed at the winged fighter with annoyance.

 

“You’re blockin’ my view, Wolfy!” hollered the redhead.

 

Zack didn’t hear his words of course, but the fighter had already picked out a target out of Reno’s line of sight and pulled himself along and swung over the side of the aircraft on Rude’s side.  Both Turks breathed a little easier, now that they had someone knocking off their would-be saboteurs.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

 Reeve went about three shades of white when he saw Cloud Strife driving into the rest camp with his pale, limp lover seated in front of him.  The engineer rushed to Fenrir as soon as it pulled to a stop, shouting for medics and guards.

 

“One of them got lucky,” Cloud grunted as he helped them get Vincent off of the motorcycle.  He dismounted afterwards and hurried behind them with Reeve as they carried his stricken friend straight into one of the medical tents. 

 

“Does anyone have a Curaga spell available?” Reeve shouted, trying to keep calm.  He had a horrible feeling he already knew the answer to that.  His people had expended most of the healing materia available to them already and there wouldn’t be more at their disposal until they could get turbo ether brought in for recharging or fresh materia.  Since materia was no longer being artificially manufactured, it wasn’t in great supply.

 

“Sir, we’re still waiting for the supply route to bring in ethers,” explained one of the medics nervously.  “We’ll have to do the best we can with conventional medicine.”

 

Reeve went to Vincent’s side as he was laid carefully on a cot.  Two medics worked over the gunman, removing his maskunfastening his body armor as quickly as they could to treat him.

 

“Vincent, do you hear me?” Reeve called to his lover in a tight voice. 

 

The sooty lashes fluttered and Vincent’s garnet eyes attempted to focus on him.

 

“He’s losing too much blood, too fast,” one of the doctors said.  “Someone get him started on an IV infusion, now!  Sir, what type is he?”

 

“Type A,” answered Reeve quickly.  He brushed Vincent’s glossy black hair away from his clammy forehead and tried to hold his attention.  “Vincent, listen to me…I want you to stay focused.”  His eyes went to the wound when the medics bared his torso and Reeve swallowed hard.

 

_~That’s a very bad injury.  A normal man wouldn’t survive it.  I’m not even certain Vincent can, in his current form!~_

The engineer began to panic and he cupped Vincent’s waxen face as the gunman’s eyes fluttered shut again.  “ _VINCENT!_   You have to stay awake, do you hear me?”  He shook him gently and the bloodied lips parted on a gasp. 

 

“He should change forms,” Cloud said from behind him, his voice only a little steadier than Reeve’s. 

 

The WRO leader knew his younger friend was right.  Vincent’s best change of survival was to allow one of his demons to come out.  The transition would heal most of the damage, but the downside was that Vincent couldn’t control what his demons did when they took hold of him and they could very well run back out onto the battlefield and get him killed for good, or hurt people on his own side.

 

“Tranquilizers,” Reeve gasped.  “Someone get a tranq rifle in here NOW!”

 

“Sir?” one of the guards asked in confusion.

 

“Just fucking _DO IT!_ ”

 

They didn’t argue with him, having never seen Reeve this agitated before.  It only took a couple of moments to find someone equipped with the requested weapon but Vincent’s breath faltered in that short time. 

 

“Vincent,” Reeve said in an intense tone.  “I want you to let one of your demons out now, before it’s too late.  I don’t care which one…we’ll handle it.  Do you hear me?”

 

Vincent’s gaze sharpened for a moment and looked up at Reeve.  The expression on his pale features said he didn’t want to comply and the engineer brought his face close to the gunman’s and snarled; “Shift, damn you!  Do it!”

 

If the order didn’t reach Vincent, the urgency in Reeve’s voice did.  The crimson eyes lit up from within and Reeve forced himself to step back as Vincent began to change forms.  Some of the medics and guards looked horrified, while others who were more accustomed to Vincent’s abilities merely looked wary.  The trooper with the tranq gun took careful aim and waited as Vincent’s body began to change and grow larger.  His face elongated, his hands became claws and dark fur sprouted all over his body.  The wound in his stomach closed and his hair grew thicker and wilder, the color bleeding out to white.

 

Cloud was vaguely thankful when the familiar, werewolf-like form of the Galian Beast lay in Vincent’s place on the cot.  He couldn’t be sure the tranquilizers would be enough, but it was better than taking a gamble with Chaos. 

 

The Beast lifted its head and looked around with a growl and the guard with the tranquilizers immediately fired two potent darts into Galian’s torso.  The reflexive, canine yelp wasn’t expected by anyone and Reeve’s face twisted with guilt.  A moment later, the Beast’s claw swung out and knocked Cloud right off of his feet, but it seemed to be an uncoordinated, confused reaction to the sting of the darts and the blonde didn’t draw his weapon.  He picked himself up off the floor and watched the demon warily.  The glowing amber eyes regarded him and Reeve with animal recognition before they unfocused and closed.

 

“He’s out,” one of the doctors confirmed a moment later when Galian Beast lay still, breathing heavily. 

 

Reeve nodded and stroked the demon-creature’s hair between the horns rising from his head.  “He’ll still need blood and medical attention when he returns to his usual form,” the engineer informed them.  He didn’t care what they thought of his display of affection.  His relief was so great that he sank to his knees beside the cot without even realizing it.

 

Cloud stood silently behind him, watching with no small relief of his own.  He laid a comforting hand on Reeve’s shoulder and squeezed it when he saw the tremor pass through his body.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 

 

 


	25. Chapter 25

“Alliance”

Chapter 25

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Rufus woke up in a state of utter confusion.  He looked up at the ceiling and lay still for a few moments, gathering his wits and going over recent events in his head to piece together what happened.  The last thing he remembered, he and Tseng were in the chopper and a host of new Deepground opposition had risen in the north. 

 

_~I gave the order for air forces to save the heavy ammunition and concentrate on the flyers.  I remember that clearly.  Tseng asked to take me back to Icicle and I refused.  Then…then I woke up here.  Did I pass out?  Is there more to the effects of the gas than I thought?~_

He sat up and grimaced at the dull pain at the base of his skull.  Reaching up and back, he pressed against the spot gingerly.  It was tender to the touch and a little bit swollen.  For a moment, he wondered if they’d hit a bad spot of turbulence and he’d bumped his head…but he couldn’t think of any way he could have hit his head in _that_ particular spot…at least not hard enough to make him black out.  There was nothing hard behind his head for him to have bumped into.

 

The truth dawned on him as he recalled the disagreements that he and Tseng had been having ever since this strike was organized and the look on the Turk leader’s face when he’d refused to go back to Icicle.  He knew Tseng didn’t want him taking a hands-on role in combat.  It wasn’t simply the protective instinct of a lover—if it were, the Wutaian would be just as concerned with Reno and Rude fighting on the field.  Tseng had the quaint notion that Rufus was the hub of the organization and the glue holding the alliance together.  Ever since Rufus had been elevated to the status of VP, the Turk leader watched over him like a hawk and did everything in his power to keep him out of direct conflict.

 

Tseng’s loyalty to the organization was as strong as his loyalty to Rufus himself.  The president knew without a doubt that his raven-haired lover had orchestrated his mysterious “nap”.  He guessed that Tseng used some sort of pressure-point technique to knock him unconscious and then brought him back here, to Icicle. 

 

Rufus was livid.  His lips pressed together in a grim line and his gray eyes narrowed.  He _wanted_ to take an active role in this battle.  His reasons weren’t simply for a sense of redemption, either.  His hated father had started the Deepground project behind his back and Rufus saw his participation in correcting that monumental mistake as the final “fuck you” to him.  He looked at the clock and saw that he still had time to join the fight before the light waned and the armies retreated from the field to recuperate.

 

“Well Tseng, you and I are going to have quite a talk when this is over,” Rufus promised aloud.  He got out of the bed and walked to the door, intending to procure ground transport and join the battle even if he had to fight with the ground troops.  He opened the door and found two ShinRa troops guarding it.

 

“Good afternoon,” Rufus said to them with a suspicious undertone.  “Are we in danger of attack or something?”

 

Both of the guards looked uncomfortable.  “No Sir,” answered the one on the left, “we’re under strict orders to keep you here until the fighting ends for the day.”

 

Rufus lifted a brow.  “Is that so?  By whose authority?”

 

“Tseng of the Turks,” answered the other guard with an apologetic shrug.

 

“Tseng isn’t the president of this organization,” Rufus said firmly.  “I am.  Stand aside and let me pass.”

 

They shifted nervously but held their ground.  “Sir, we can’t do that,” the left trooper argued, “We have reason to believe you’ll be in unnecessary danger if we comply with that.  It’s only a couple of hours until sunset.  Can’t you just humor us until then?”  His voice took on a pleading tone.

 

Rufus narrowed his eyes at both of them.  _Damn_ Tseng and his reputation!  Rufus could understand—even appreciate—the reluctance to go against strict orders from the Wutaian.  The troops weren’t unjustified in their fear of what Tseng might do to them if they failed to follow his orders and Rufus knew well that in emergency situations, there was a clause that allowed Tseng to go over his head for his own protection.

 

_~Oh, how I’m going to make you pay, Tseng.~_

Knowing that he wasn’t going to help the situation by making the guards feel caught between a power struggle, Rufus chose to take matters into his own hands in a more subtle manner.  “Very well.  I expect reports on our progress within the hour.  There _will_ be an inquiry when Tseng returns, so do tell him immediately to report to me the moment he arrives.  We’ll sort this confusion out ourselves.”

 

Both of the guards visibly relaxed.  “Thank you, Mr. President,” the one on the right said with a salute.  “You’re being very gracious about this.”

 

Rufus smiled but the expression didn’t reach his eyes.  _~How little you know, my ignorant peon.~_

~********************************~

* * *

 

The first order of business was to comb the room for alternative exits.  His first logical choice was the windows, though knowing Tseng, they were being watched as well.  On the off-chance that the Turk leader had been in too much of a hurry to consider it, Rufus went to the window by the bed and opened it.  He stuck his head out and found another guard sitting on the dormer beside it.

 

“Sorry Sir,” the trooper murmured.  “Tseng ordered us to keep you in your room and he thought you’d try the windows.”

 

Rufus glared at the man before sticking his head back in and shutting the window.  He checked the other windows as well anyhow, because some of them were set into the wall rather than a dormer and unless his troops had decided to fashion a sling to hang from the roof, they couldn’t have someone sitting right outside of them.  Unfortunately, there was a guard stationed on the ground outside beneath each of these windows.

 

Rufus swore and scanned the ceiling.  There was no ventilation system in the Inn but he knew there was an attic.  With any luck… _there_!  He saw an access hatch at the far corner of the room, near the dresser.  He hurried over to it and grabbed one of the chairs sitting by the small table to use as a stepping stool.  He got onto the chair and pushed at the square panel overhead, popping it open and sliding it to one side.  With ease he’d never had before, he hopped up and pulled himself into the opening. 

 

_~I’ve got no idea how long I have before someone comes to report on the battle.  That wasn’t a particularly bright demand for me to make, now that I think of it.  Ah well, it would have roused suspicion if I hadn’t.~_

He crawled carefully and slowly through the attic, keeping to the support beams and following the closest source of light until he found the small attic window.  He opened it with care and peeked out, half expecting it to be guarded as well. 

 

It wasn’t.

 

Rufus smiled smugly and crawled through the window onto the upper roof.  He looked around, keeping an eye out for any troops that might be up there with him.  Seeing none, he straightened up and began to explore the rooftop on silent feet.  He passed over the guard that was watching his bedside window and he peered down at him and resisted the urge to find a pinecone or something and throw it at him.  Instead, he moved on to avoid the risk of the man hearing or sensing him.

 

Rufus grumbled softly to himself.  There were guards stationed at every corner of the Inn and the drop to the ground wasn’t small.  He was confident that he could make it without injuring himself but the building was on a hill, so he’d likely end up rolling down and out of Icicle painfully once he landed.  With an angry sigh of defeat, the president made his way back to the attic and down into his room.  He shut the attic panel and replaced the chair before going to the door and yanking it open.

 

“I’m hungry,” he said curtly when the troopers looked at him.  “Have something brought to me for dinner.”  He thought for a moment and added; “I want a bottle of scotch as well.”

 

“Right away, Sir.”

 

Rufus refrained from slamming the door.  It wouldn’t do for him to have a childish temper tantrum in front of his men.  He went to the table and sat down, glaring at the wall and sulking now that he had the privacy to do so.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on his door. 

 

“Enter,” Rufus called out.  He shifted in his chair and threaded his fingers together over the table, putting on an air of dignity and calm for appearances sake. 

 

A woman with long, dark hair came into the room.  She was wearing a Turk uniform and carrying a tray with a covered dish, eating utensils, a couple of glasses, a single rose in a small glass vase and most importantly, a fifth bottle of aged scotch.

 

“Hello, Mr. President,” she said in a cultured, soft voice.  “I’ve brought you something to eat and if you’d like, I’ll give you a report on the status of our armies.”

 

Rufus was slightly pacified that they’d sent an attractive lady Turk to see to his needs.  While he didn’t desire women sexually, he appreciated the company of an elegant female from time to time.  There was something soothing about it—even if said female was capable of killing with her bare hands if the situation called for it.  He stood up politely and gestured for her to come in.

 

“Please, join me,” he offered as she approached and set the tray on the table.  He held her chair out for her and she looked faintly flattered by the gesture as she sat down in it.  Rufus took his seat and turned one of the glasses right side up before examining the bottle of scotch with a critical eye.

 

“Not a bad year,” he murmured.  “It will do.”  He poured himself a glass and glanced at his guest.  “Care for a glass, Miss…?”  He hadn’t met this particular Turk before and he had no idea what name she went under.

 

“Illiyana,” the Turk supplied with a soft smile.  “And no thank you, Sir.  I never indulge on the job.”

 

Rufus smirked ruefully and took a sip of the liquor, tasting it for a moment before swallowing and appreciating the warmth as it went down his esophagus.  “Ordinarily I wouldn’t either, but…well.”  He spread his hands.

 

“Yes,” she nodded, her hazel eyes softening with guilt.  “I’m very sorry about this, Mr. President.”

 

He waved it away.  “You aren’t to blame and I certainly can’t expect you to go against the orders of your superior…even if I _do_ provide his paycheck.”

 

She hid a smile and covertly studied him.  She hadn’t met him up close before but now that she had, the thought of fulfilling another possible need of his was quite appealing.

 

~Handsome, charming, intelligent, rich, powerful and un-afraid to get his hands dirty.  How is this man still single?~

 

She got her answer a moment later when she gathered the nerve to tell him the other purpose she was sent in for.  “Sir, I don’t know how to say this delicately.  If you desire some companionship when I’ve finished giving my report, I can…provide that to you.”

 

Rufus came very close to repeating Cloud’s actions in his office that day that Zackary Fair mentioned his resemblance to Director Lazard.  With great effort, he avoided spitting the mouthful of scotch he’d just taken all over the place.  He swallowed carefully, trying not to choke on it.

 

“I…see.  I’m quite flattered,” he knew that this woman was new to the Turks and was probably ignorant of the quiet, common knowledge that he was gay.  He chose his words carefully, not wanting to embarrass her.  “If I desired female company that way, I would most certainly take your offer,” he finished.

 

She looked slightly annoyed and wholly uncomfortable and Rufus understood what had probably happened.  “Someone told you to offer, didn’t they?” he guessed.

 

“I…forgive me, President Shinra,” she said, blushing faintly.  “I had no idea and yes, I was told by a higher-ranking Turk to offer.”

 

“Well, tell me this person’s name,” Rufus insisted.  “If he or she has the time to pull pranks on newer members—not to mention engage in sexual harassment—something should be done to remedy that.”

 

Illiyana’s smile reached her eyes.  “Trevor, Sir.  His name is Trevor and he’s the commanding operative to our team here in town.”

 

“Trevor,” Rufus repeated, recognizing the name.  He smiled at her.  “Well, I’ll make certain that he has something more productive to do until Tseng can deal with this personally.  Are you sure you wouldn’t like a drink?”

 

“Actually, a small one wouldn’t hurt,” she agreed, still smiling.

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

Illiyana gave her report while the president ate and she politely declined when he offered some of his meal to her.  Inwardly she was thinking it was a pity that he didn’t go for women and though she knew what he was capable of, he impressed her as quite the gentleman.  She was a little concerned with how quickly he was going through his bottle of liquor but since he was securely under guard, she didn’t say anything.  The man’s pride was bruised and she thought he had every right to get drunk if he wanted to.

 

“So, everyone’s calling him ‘General Strife’ now, are they?” Rufus said when the report was finished, his lip curving into a delicate smile of amusement.  “I wonder what he thinks of that.  Well, thank you for your time, Illiyana.  Do tell your superior that he’s now on slaughter duty.  Perhaps providing our armies with the meat from the livestock will keep him more occupied.  Oh, and when he’s finished with that, he’s to help with laundry duty as well.”

 

“Yes, Sir,” she said with a soft chuckle.  “If there’s anything more I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

 

He was buzzing enough that he almost asked her to help him escape, but he had enough common sense left to realize she wasn’t quite that charmed, yet.  “Of course.  You may go now, Illiyana.”

 

She took her leave and when she was gone, Rufus considered the half-empty bottle of scotch and shrugged. 

 

“To hell with it,” he murmured.  He picked up the bottle and drank straight out of it.

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

By the time he’d polished off all but a fourth of the scotch, Rufus was more than a little tipsy and more determined than ever to get a few shots at the enemy.  He peered blearily at his watch and looked out the window, estimating that if he got away now, he’d have at least an hour of fighting to look forward to.  They’d taken his guns from him when Tseng brought him to the Inn but if he got away he could liberate some weapons and a vehicle from the supply tents just outside of town.  He set his bottle down on the table and stood up to drag his chair under the access panel to the attic.

 

At one point while crawling to the window leading out to the roof, he almost lost his balance and rolled off of the support beam he was moving on.  He snorted with amusement at the thought of the looks on people’s faces if he were to crash through the ceiling into someone’s room or the lobby.  Telling himself to keep his mind on business, the president continued crawling along until he made it to the window.  He opened it and climbed out.  When he stood up he staggered a little and he came close to tumbling right over the edge of the roof.  He caught himself in time and shut the attic window a little too loudly.

 

“Shhh,” he hissed at the shutter with a glare. 

 

He started across the roof, not quite as stealthily as before but still more quietly than another man in his state would have been able to do.  He closed one eye to focus his vision better and he looked around, swaying slightly as he sought out an escape route.

 

There was a tall evergreen tree with heavy branches a few feet away from the edge of the roof.  Rufus looked down and to either side, checking to see if there were any guards within visual distance.  There was one on the ground at the right corner of the building but he was pretty far away and he looked like he was nodding off. 

 

Rufus smirked and considered the tree.  With his new dexterity, he could surely leap into it if he got a running start.  From there he could climb down to the ground and be off before anyone noticed he was gone. 

 

Had he been sober he would have questioned his judgment, but at the moment the president was feeling rather invincible and cocky. 

 

“Keep _me_ locked up, will you?” Rufus muttered as he took a few steps back and calculated.  “I’ve escaped worshe…worse.”

 

He took a deep breath and ran, the long muscles of his legs allowing him to pick up speed quickly.  He leaped when he reached the edge of the roof and he arched through the air toward the tree with grace that he was sure the squirrels would envy.  His aim was true, but as he plunged through the foliage of the tree the pine needles slapped his face painfully and he was forced to shut his eyes to protect them.  He hit the trunk with enough force to make him grunt, but not hard enough to do major damage. 

 

Unfortunately, he began to fall immediately.  The rough bark scraped over his skin and snagged at his clothes.  Rufus instinctively scrabbled for purchase and it was then that he realized something he hadn’t considered. 

 

_~Bloody hell…the tail didn’t come with a set of claws.~_

He frantically grabbed at the branches, wincing as his bottom landed against a smaller one and snapped it.  If he didn’t stop his descent soon, he was bound to suffer serious injury or death and even if that didn’t happen, the noise of the snapping branches would surely alert the guards.  Somehow his struggles ended up twisting him so that he was facing _away_ from the trunk, which would make it even harder to catch himself.  Rufus cursed and kept trying but what stopped his fall in the end was his coat. 

 

He came to a slow stop, suspended by the branches that had gotten caught under his coat from behind.  He was quite literally stuck, hanging there by his long coat like a cat by the scruff of its neck.  Fortunately it wasn’t choking him…the sleeves prevented that.  Dazed and confused, he flapped his arms clumsily and looked around with blurred vision.

 

“I’m stuck,” Rufus mumbled.  He heard someone moving below and he held still and kept his mouth shut, fearing discovery more than falling.

 

“Probably just some squirrels,” a female voice said below.  Thankfully the pine foliage was thick enough to conceal Rufus from their point of view.

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” agreed a male voice.  Two sets of footsteps crunched away in the snow.

 

Rufus heaved a sigh and tried to pull his thoughts together to free himself from the tangle.  The limbs that were supporting him creaked dangerously as he moved and he stopped, having enough sense to realize his danger.  If he struggled too hard the branches would break and if he slipped out of his coat the result would be the same.  Either way, he’d end up crashing to the ground.

 

“Dammit,” the president grumbled.  His head was buzzing pleasantly and despite the chill in the air, he was really quite comfortable.  His eyes drifted shut and he decided he’d figure out how to get down after a nap.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud was just getting ready to go back out onto the field when a WRO operative hurried over to him with an anxious look on his face.

 

“General Strife,” the young man called out. 

 

Cloud stopped and stared at him, shocked by the title he’d used.  “ _General?_ ” He mouthed.

 

“Director Tuesti is missing,” the WRO said when he reached him. 

 

Cloud furrowed his brows.  “What do you mean, ‘missing’?  He was in the tent with Vincent just a minute ago.”

 

“I know,” the other man nodded.  “But when we came in to start Valentine on a blood transfusion, Reeve was gone.  We looked for him all over the camp but we couldn’t find him and what’s worse, one of the snowmobiles and the trailer carrying an experimental weapon was gone too.”

 

Cloud felt dread sink into his very bones.  “What _kind_ of experimental weapon?”

 

“It’s a sort of mini-cannon,” explained the WRO.  “It runs on its own electric power source and he was going to send someone out to test it in battle.  General, I think Director Tuesti’s gone off the deep end.  I’m afraid he’s going to try testing that thing himself.”

 

Cloud ignored the odd way the man kept calling him “General” and focused on the problem at hand.  He looked out over the snow and spotted a trail leading away from the encampment that looked like it was made by a pair of skis.

 

“I’ll find him,” Cloud promised.  “Just keep an eye on Vincent and if you can, have him transported back to Icicle.”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

Cloud hurried to Fenrir and started the engine.  He kicked the bike into gear and began following the trail left behind by the snowmobile.  As he tracked Reeve, he tuned his comm. unit to the frequency that the air-strike teams were using.

 

“Guys, I know you’re busy up there but I need you to keep an eye out for Reeve,” he announced.  “Vincent got hurt and I think Reeve’s taken it into his head to give Deepground some payback with his own hands.”

 

“Affirmative, Cloud,” Tseng responded.  “I’ll search for him immediately.  The others are too heavily engaged in combat to respond at the moment.”

 

Cloud looked up at the sky and found himself torn between concern for Reeve and concern for his airborne allies.  Reno’s chopper in particular was under heavy attack from the flying opposition, but Cloud could see Zack clinging to the side of the aircraft and dispatching the ones that were trying to sabotage it, while Rude and Reno fired the chopper’s guns at the enemies hovering around it.  Cid’s airship was likewise being assaulted but Cloud knew the pilot kept a crew of formidable fighters on board and he could see enemies falling to their death from the Shera.  The other choppers and the two other airships were assisting as well as they could, but they were also under attack.

 

_~I have to trust them all to take care of themselves.  Reeve isn’t cut out for direct combat and I’ve got to get to him before he gets himself killed.~_

Cloud forced himself to tear his eyes off of the sky and focus on the trail.  At least if Tseng found him first he’d be able to see what he was up to and give coordinates.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

He worked out to keep his body toned and fit, but he wasn’t a fighter.  He was a decent shot with a gun, but he wasn’t a marksman.  He was intelligent and clever, but he wasn’t a scientist.  No, Reeve Tuesti was none of these things but he was most definitely a man in love.  He even loved Vincent’s demons, because they were _part_ of him.  Someone had nearly taken them all from Reeve and the engineer meant to prove what a horrible mistake that was.

 

The monkey clinging to the engineer’s back was fussing with alarm and he was certain that if the mechanical creature could speak, it would be telling him to go back now before it was too late.  He hadn’t meant to take him but he’d been using Monkeyshines to comfort the sick, injured and dying…much the way hospitals sometimes brought cats and dogs in to soothe patients.  If he’d taken time to think about it, Reeve would have de-activated him and placed him with Cait Sith, but his mind was bent on revenge and the bionic simian had jumped onto his back when it spotted him leaving on the snowmobile. 

 

“If you don’t shut up, I’ll shut you off,” Reeve warned over his shoulder.  “You can either help or be quiet.  It’s your choice.”

 

Monkeyshines chose to be quiet.  Reeve nodded in satisfaction and slowed the vehicle to a stop, dismounting quickly and looking up at the skies as he hurried to the trailer attached to the snowmobile.  He unhooked the elastic ropes holding the canvas over his weapon and pulled the cover off.  Once it was out of the way, he climbed onto the trailer and got in position at the control panel of the cannon.  It resembled the old Junon Mako cannon except for its drastically smaller size.  He’d designed it with a moving platform for the operator to power it up, aim and fire.

 

Whether it would work or blow him and his monkey to smithereens was something he was about to find out.  He’d tested it on an empty field before but he’d made some adjustments since then because he hadn’t been satisfied with the force of the energy blasts it produced.  Shrugging, he pumped the primer handle a few times to activate it and he waited for it to power up.  There was a smell of ozone in the air and the hairs on his arms stood up as the electricity built.  He heard Cloud’s motorcycle approaching from the distance but he didn’t pause his work. 

 

The cannon finished powering up and Reeve searched the skies for a group of enemies to fire it on.  He found one cluster of them that were far enough away from Yuffie’s team and the alliance aircrafts.  Some were winged and some were on hoverboards.  All of them were dropping grenades on and shooting at the ground forces of the WRO and ShinRa.

 

Reeve moved the weapon into position and took aim with it.  Monkeyshines squeaked nervously but he paid no attention to the animal and pulled the trigger mechanism.  A single ball of glowing white energy fired from the barrel of the weapon and streaked across the sky toward his targets.  Reeve watched and waited to see what would happen before taking aim again.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Zack came up behind a winged Deepground operative who was too busy trying to cut through some wires near the tail of the chopper to notice him coming.  He tapped the man on the shoulder and he turned around to stare at him with startled, neon-green eyes.

 

“How’s it going?” Zack asked.  He gave his opponent a moment to react—for fairness’ sake.  As soon as the enemy lunged for him, Zack punched him hard in the face and followed up with a knee-kick to his solar plexus.  While he was dazed, the black-haired fighter chucked him off the side of the chopper.  He expected the enemy operative to recover and come back for him but once he lost his grip he hurtled backwards and ended up colliding with the tail rotaries. 

 

Zack made a face as the enemy’s scream was abruptly silenced and the man’s limp body fell behind, streaking blood through the sky in its wake. 

 

“Oops.”

 

Imagining himself coming to the same unpleasant end if he got too close to the tail, Zack moved back toward the front to go around to the other side and clear off the enemies there.  He was getting frustrated with the way things kept turning out.  There he was, trying to give them a chance to fight back, and somehow his opponents still kept ending up dead before he could get a good fight out of them.  The only ones that had put up a decent fight were the first one that had crashed into the ground and the one he’d grappled with on the nose of the chopper. 

 

_~Maybe I just keep getting the ones that haven’t had a lot of training yet.  I know a lot of these poor saps used to be regular civilians.  Shit, now I feel worse.~_

He didn’t get the chance to contemplate further on his theory, because there was a bright explosion of energy in the sky to the north, over the main force of ground combatants.  Zack narrowed his eyes against the glare and swore in surprise.

 

“Whoa!  Where the hell did _that_ come from?”  He reached the cabin door and he pulled it open with a grunt of effort and swung in, closing it behind him.  Reno and Rude had stopped firing to stare at the spectacle as well and when the redhead heard Zack come in, he turned in his seat to peer through the cockpit opening at him.

 

“Yo, any idea where that came from, Fair?”

 

Zack shook his head.  “I don’t know but it sure as spit looked like it hit a bunch of those guys that were attacking our guys on the ground!”

 

“I don’t think we’ve got to worry about our chopper anymore,” Rude said.  He pointed out the cracked window and his companions followed the gesture with their eyes and saw that their attackers had broken away to search for the source of the blast.

 

“I’m gonna circle her around and see what’s up,” Reno said.  “Looks like it came from somewhere behind our forces.”

 

There was a crackle over the radio and Tseng’s voice spoke.  “All air units proceed to the following coordinates.”  He rattled off the numbers and continued: “The blast you just witnessed came from a new weapon devised by Director Tuesti.  The new objective is to keep enemy flyers from reaching it.”

 

“So that came from Reeve?” Zack said with surprise.  “Man, that guy’s got more tricks up his sleeve than a magician at a stage show!”

 

Reno saw that their attackers weren’t the only ones in the enemy ranks that had noticed the blast.  The other flyers were breaking away from the aircrafts they were assaulting, too. 

 

“Reeve wouldn’t be down there,” Rude said.  “He probably sent it our on the field with troops.”

 

Of course, none of them had heard about Vincent’s injury or Rude wouldn’t be so quick to assume Reeve didn’t fire the weapon himself.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

“Reeve, what are you doing?”  Cloud pulled Fenrir to a reckless stop and shouted up at him.  Of course he knew what he was “doing”.  He’d seen the blast and it had taken out a lot of enemies with one hit.  The question was more rhetorical than literal.

 

“I’m blowing things up,” answered the engineer calmly as he swung the cannon to aim again.

 

Cloud looked up at the sky and groaned.  That one blast might have taken out a chunk of the air opposition, but it also alerted the rest of them and they were coming to deal with the new threat.  “Congratulations,” the blonde snapped.  “You’ve gotten their attention.”

 

“Good,” replied the older man with narrowed eyes.  “I want them to see it coming.”

 

“They’re going to be all over you!” Cloud shouted.

 

“Then you’ll have to keep them _off_ ,” reasoned the engineer with a look over his shoulder at the blonde.  “We can end this thing tonight, if I can get off enough shots at them.  You saw how many that last explosion took out.”

 

Cloud sighed and opened Fenrir’s weapon compartments to arm himself appropriately.  He saw that the alliance air units were turning around to go after the approaching flyers and Yuffie’s team was also chasing after them.  It gave him some comfort to know that he wouldn’t be trying to defend Reeve all by himself, but he was sure he’d have to unleash a few of his most powerful sword techniques anyhow. 

 

As an afterthought, the blonde took a gun out of the weapons compartment and loaded it.  Like Zack, he was specialized in swords and while he could use many other melee weapons with skill, most firearms felt awkward to him.  He was more familiar with rifles; both as a person that hunted from time to time and as a former infantryman in the ShinRa military.  Unfortunately the handgun was the only firearm he had with him.

 

“Reeve, do you have any other weapons on you if they get too close?” Cloud asked. 

 

The engineer gave him an incredulous look.  “Of course, Cloud.  I haven’t survived so many assassination attempts by wandering around unarmed.”

 

“Good.  Just be ready to use them.”

 

“I’m prepared to do that,” assured the older man.

 

Reeve powered up the cannon again and Cloud waited nearby with one hand on the hilt of his Tsurugi and the other holding a pistol.  The energy level spiked and Monkeyshines covered his eyes with his paws while Reeve fired up at the closest group of airborne enemies in range.  The engineer squinted against the flash of light as the energy ball exploded and blew them out of the sky.  The concussive wave from the blast hit some of the opposing forces behind them and it made a couple of hoverboard flyers lose control and spiral to the ground.  Even Tseng’s chopper rocked a bit as the end of the ripple reached it.

 

“Don’t shoot that thing at the flyers anymore,” Cloud ordered, “they’re getting too close and our guys are right behind them!  Start firing at the ground forces further away while we take care of the air threat.”

 

“Agreed.”  Reeve turned the cannon and powered it up again.  He knew now that the weapon had enough range to hit the back enemy ranks without catching any of his own people in the blast.  As the cannon was powering up, he heard Cloud shooting and he looked up to see one of the enemies swooping toward him on a hoverboard.  Reeve smoothly reached into his long jacket, withdrew an odd-looking gun with a large barrel and fired it at the enemy.  Instead of bullets, the weapon’s ammunition was a thumb-sized capsule that broke open as it fired. 

 

The enemy flyer tried to avoid the net that webbed out but his momentum was too great and he was entangled quickly.  He fell to the ground and Cloud finished him off with a couple of shots.

 

“Full of surprises,” Cloud grunted at his friend with a smirk.

 

“I wouldn’t be alive otherwise,” Reeve shrugged.  He turned his attention back to the cannon and the enemy masses on the ground in the distance.  “This one’s for you, Vincent,” he whispered as he fired.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Tseng didn’t know if he was more impressed by the blasts from Reeve’s cannon or the sight of Cloud Strife leaping straight up into the air and producing a hail of small meteors from out of nowhere to strike a group of flyers and take them down.  He and his copilot rained bullets on the evasive Deepground operatives that were closest to them and a larger blast to the east told him that one of the airships was doing the same.  Cid Highwind’s hoot of victory broke through the transmission and confirmed it had come from the Shera.

 

The Wutaian glanced to the west and did a double take.  One of the helicopters was in a steep dive and doing corkscrew loops.  At first he thought it was out of control but the fact that it was still shooting and taking down opposition made him realize that it must be Reno’s chopper.

 

“I didn’t know our helicopters could _do_ that!” Tseng’s awed copilot said.

 

“They can’t,” the Wutaian clarified, but then he amended, “Or rather, they shouldn’t.  Certain reckless pilots seem to find loopholes in the rules of gravity and vehicle capabilities, though.”

 

Inside of Reno’s chopper, poor Zack was thrown all over the place and getting more bruises than he’d suffered from in his fights with the enemy.  Reno stopped his spin and pulled back up and Zack dragged himself off the floor of the cabin.

 

“You okay back there, Wolfy?” the redhead hollered.  “Thought I heard you yelp a couple times.”

 

“That’s it, I want off,” Zack growled.

 

Reno glanced over his shoulder at him and frowned.  “What the hell are ya doing out of your seat?  I told you to buckle up, man.”

 

“You didn’t tell me you were going to spin like that,” Zack accused as he gingerly touched his swelling eye.  Oh yeah, he was going to have a shiner for sure. 

 

Reno winced when he saw the developing bruise over Zack’s left eye.  “Well, when I tell ya to buckle up, you’re supposed to do it right away.  Everybody knows that, yo.”

 

“Urk,” Rude grunted.  He’d meant to say something in agreement but his stomach heaved instead and he ended up reaching for the airsickness bag under his seat.

 

“Just the same, wait ‘till I’m outta here to do that again,” Zack warned.  He pulled open the door and jumped out of the chopper without waiting for a reply.

 

Reno sighed and looked at his partner.  Rude looked like he wished Zack had taken him with him.  The bald man was taking deep breaths and holding his puke bag ready.

 

“Guess I overdid it that time,” Reno muttered.  For Rude’s sake, he didn’t try any further stunts.  The larger man hadn’t complained but he got sick despite his attempts to hold it back and Reno felt bad about putting him and Zack through that.

 

Now flying a more standardized course, Reno fired on the enemy until his partner recovered from his motion sickness.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

On top of a Cliff and safely out of range, Genesis watched as the alliance army’s new weapon decimated the Deepground ranks.  He blinked back an attack of dizziness and glanced down at the claw mark on his left arm.  It was the only wound he’d suffered in the confrontation but it was common practice for some Deepground fighters to taint their weapons with poisons.  Genesis shrugged his jacket off of his left shoulder and examined the wound through the open tears on his shirt.  The skin was an angry red around the cuts, but it looked better than it did a couple of hours ago and he’d stopped blacking out.

 

He wondered if the bald Turk was still alive and if he was, when he’d have another moment alone.  It was obvious that Weiss’s army wasn’t going to last more than another day and once he found out how quickly they were losing, he’d probably try to escape.

 

“No more running, brother,” Genesis murmured into the cold wind.  He sank to his knees and scooped up a handful of snow to rub over his heated forehead.  He wanted to be sick but he refused to allow his stomach the courtesy of emptying it all over the ground.  Instead, he sat down and put his back against a tree, watching the distant battle with hazy blue eyes as he waited for the dizzy spell to end.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued 


	26. Chapter 26

“Alliance”

Chapter 26

~**********************************~

* * *

 

 

“Have you found him yet?”

 

“No Ma’am,” the trooper answered with a cringe.  “There’s been no sign of him out on the field either.  We’ve got search parties checking the ski slopes to make sure he didn’t go down there.”

 

Illiyana considered defection for the first time since joining the Turks.  “Tseng is going to _kill_ us all, if we don’t find him.”

 

The soldier swallowed.  “Have you contacted him yet to tell him?”

 

“No, are you crazy?” the Turk woman snapped.  “Telling him that we’ve lost the president while he’s in the middle of fighting a battle…do you _want_ to be tortured to death?”

 

“Well, what do you think he’s going to do when he comes back and finds out we never told him?!” The young man was on the verge of panic. 

 

“Okay, we’ve got to calm down and think this out rationally,” a WRO operative broke in.  “The last time he was seen was when Illiyana brought him his dinner and he was gone when we checked on him an hour later.  We’ve got every exit from his room watched so he couldn’t have gotten out!”

 

“Then where _is_ he, genius?” Illiyana snapped.

 

The WRO frowned, thinking over the possibilities.  “Maybe he knocked out one of the guards and took his clothes?  He could be out there fighting in disguise right now.”

 

“No,” the ShinRa trooper argued, “that can’t be right.  I’ve done rounds and I know all the guards assigned to watch the building.  Believe me, if the president was posing as one of them I’d know it.  All of my guys are accounted for.”

 

“Let’s backtrack,” Illiyana insisted.  “Was the _entire_ room searched from top to bottom, including the bathroom?”

 

“Well, we checked both and didn’t find him,” the trooper said in an increasingly annoyed tone.  “What, do you think he crawled into a drawer or something?”

 

Their agitated conversation was interrupted when one of the Turks ran into the lobby and hurried over to Illiyana. 

 

“They’re finished on the field for the day and Tseng’s already landed his chopper outside of town,” he informed her.

 

The woman’s complexion lost all color.  “Why didn’t you tell me this _earlier_?” she asked through stiff lips.

 

“Because I didn’t know they were finished until it was already over and they came back,” the young man snapped.  “You’re the one that lost the president…YOU deal with it.  I’m going back to what I was doing before.”  He hurried away, leaving the three mismatched conspirators by themselves at the foot of the stairs leading up to the rooms.

 

“Gotta love that Turk loyalty,” muttered the ShinRa trooper under his breath.

 

“Like you can love militia irresponsibility and stupidity?” Illiyana shot back.  “You didn’t even search the whole room!”

 

“You could have done it too!” he argued.

 

“No, I was busy organizing the field search, you dumb bastard!  _Your_ people were in charge of searching the Inn and the town!”

 

“Look,” cut in the WRO, “It doesn’t matter now because he’s back and we’re going to have to explain this to him.  We’re all in deep shit together so let’s not make it worse by going at each other’s throats.”

 

The other two lapsed into frightened, angry silence.  Finally, Illiyana sighed and regained her cool.  “Well, there’s nothing we con do for it now except try to correct the situation.  Let’s go and report to Tseng.”

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

“Why didn’t you notify me immediately?” The Wutaian’s voice was deadly calm and his face was expressionless.  Behind him, some medics were carrying Vincent by stretcher into the Inn and Reeve followed behind them.  The WRO looked pleadingly at his leader as he passed but Reeve was too concerned with his stricken companion to pay attention to their peril.

 

“We didn’t think he could have gone far and we thought we could find him without interrupting you,” Illiyana explained in a rush, her heart thumping so loudly she was sure it could be heard by everyone in a ten-foot range.  Other well-known faces were trudging into town, including Cloud Strife and the rest of his friends.  Reno and Rude were walking beside Cloud and his handsome, winged friend was beside him.  Illiyana’s only consolation was that Tseng wasn’t the sort to publicly murder anyone.

 

“What’s wrong?” Reno said as he came up behind Tseng and noticed the tension in his body.

 

Tseng leaned over to whisper in the redhead’s ears and Reno groaned and shook his head.

 

“Told ya this would happen,” Reno grumbled.  “Well, let’s go have a look and see what the military suckers missed.  Hey Cloud, can you and Zack give us a hand?”

 

 Tseng made a shushing motion but he was too late to stop the redhead from involving others. 

 

“Something wrong?” Cloud asked, his blue eyes curious.  The others thankfully kept filing past, either because they were too tired and concerned about Vincent to care or because they thought it wasn’t their business until asked to get involved.  All of them were sporting wounds of some sort and Zack looked like someone had punched him in the eye and hit him with a tire iron a few times in various places.

 

“Come up to the president’s Inn room with us and we’ll discuss it,” Tseng murmured before Reno could say anything.  To the three that were in charge of the searches, he added: “Keep this as quiet as possible.  Continue your searches outside of town while we investigate the Inn.  Illiyana, come with us.”

 

The young woman was frozen to the spot for a moment with fear, but she forced herself to move and told herself that her boss wouldn’t shoot her right in front of Strife and his friend.  She went in with them and they waited until the stairs were clear before going up to Rufus’s room.  Tseng waited for the others to go in before he followed and shut the door behind him.

 

“Tell us _exactly_ what happened, Illiyana.” Instructed the Turk leader calmly.

 

She explained everything and when asked if she searched the whole room, she explained that the ShinRa troops were responsible for that.  She half expected him to snap at her and accuse her of making excuses but he was being very calm and understanding about it.  Reno went over to the table and picked up the bottle of scotch.

 

“Did he drink all this by himself?” Reno asked with raised eyebrows.

 

Illiyana nodded.  “Except for one shot he poured for me, yes.  He was…very angry…about being held here against his will.”

 

Tseng saw the bottle and sighed.    

 

_~This is as much my fault as it is the guards I assigned to him.  Had I just trusted him to handle himself without getting killed in battle, Rufus never would have drank that much and disappeared.  Shiva, he could be lying in a snowdrift dead somewhere, all because I couldn’t bring myself to risk him.~_

“Thank you, Illiyana.  You did well in keeping this between a select few people.  We’ll take it from here.”

 

She blinked at him, surprised to still be standing.  “Thank you, sir,” she said with calmness she certainly didn’t feel.  She made her retreat hastily and shut the door behind her.

 

“If the boss drank this much that fast, he probably got _really_ wasted,” Reno said as he held the bottle up for everyone’s inspection.  Rufus was known for moderation when he imbibed and he rarely allowed himself to get more than buzzed before stopping.

 

Zack saw how much was missing from the bottle and he gave a low whistle.  “A guy would have to have a pretty hefty tolerance to drink that much without passing out.”  On inspiration, the black-haired fighter walked to the bed and squatted down to peer under it.  “Nope.  No president…just some dust bunnies and a mousetrap.”  He announced.

 

Cloud was giving the windows a frowning look and he caught sight of something in the ceiling under a chair that grabbed his attention.  The blonde heaved a sudden sigh and motioned to the others. 

 

“Did the militia mention anything about checking the attic?” the blonde said when they crowded around him.

 

“No, they did not.” Tseng responded in a lethal tone.  Now he was getting angry with someone other than himself. 

 

“What kind of shit-for-brains checks the room out and doesn’t notice _that_?” Reno exclaimed with a wave at the chair and the partly opened panel in the ceiling.

 

“ _We_ didn’t notice it at first,” Rude pointed out.

 

“Well fuck, we’ve only been in here for about five minutes,” Reno shot back.  “Blondie spotted it the minute he had a look around.  How long did those pricks even search?”

 

“I think they were too busy shitting their brains all over themselves to pay attention to details,” Zack said in their defense.  He smirked at Tseng.  “You’re not the sort of guy most people want angry with them.”

 

Tseng pursed his lips with annoyance, but it was again directed more at himself than anyone.  He hadn’t even _considered_ having the attic access sealed or guarded.  “Let’s go up and see if we can track him,” the Wutaian ordered.  “With any luck, he’s passed out on the roof somewhere.”

 

Rude went up first and helped the others up.  Zack went last.  The attic was pretty dark but the dying rays of the sun shone through a couple of attic windows and provided enough light for the men to move without putting their weight in the wrong spot. 

 

“So which way do you think he would have gone?” Reno asked the others as they looked around the cramped attic space.

 

“If he were sober, he’d have chosen the least obvious route to throw off pursuit,” Tseng answered with confidence.  “As it stands, we’re predicting the mind of a drunk man.”

 

“So he probably took the easiest path out,” Zack reasoned with a look over his shoulder at the closest window.  The shutter on it was a bit askew, which probably meant his observation was correct.

 

“They all go to the same place anyhow,” Reno said with a shrug.  “Does it really matter which one he picked?”

 

“It does if we want to trace his steps accurately,” Tseng murmured.

 

“Let’s just try the closest one first,” Cloud suggested.

 

The others agreed and followed behind Rude as the bald man crawled slowly to the window with the lopsided shutter.  Reno heaved a sigh of impatience at the slow pace.

 

“Damn partner, not that I’m complaining about the view or anything but could ya kick up the speed a notch?  A snail moves faster than you!”

 

Rude stopped abruptly and Reno got an even closer view of his butt when he ran face-first into it.  “I weigh more than anyone here,” the bald man muttered.  “I’ve gotta be careful or I could go right through the ceiling.”  He flinched when he felt Reno’s teeth nip his right buttock.  “I’ll try to move faster,” he sighed.

 

They climbed through the attic window and onto the roof, one by one.  Now that they were out, they decided to split up and search for any signs of the president.  Rude was the first to notice the faint traces of Rufus’s footsteps leading from the window.  They were hard to spot because the snow on the roof was thin, but he followed them and noticed how they doubled back on themselves over the roof.  He whistled to his partner and waved him over.  Reno hurried to his side, slipping a little on the shingles but catching himself before he fell.

 

“What’d you find, baby?” Reno murmured anxiously as he looked at the spot.

 

“Tracks,” Rude said simply.  He traced them with his eyes and he noticed that one set led to the edge of the roof.  The others joined them and they also examined the tracks.  Reno followed them to the edge of the roof and scratched his head. 

 

“What’d he do, jump?” the redhead muttered.  A flash of fear shot through him.  “Holy shit, what if he _did_?”  He leaned over and searched the ground anxiously, but there was no Rufus lying broken on the ground or any sign of him landing there. 

 

Zack scratched his chin and considered the problem.  There was simply nowhere to go from there unless the president grew a pair of wings of his own.  The former Soldier raised his head to look out over the landscape, wondering if one of the Deepground flyers had happened upon Rufus while he was on the roof and spirited him away.  His gaze swept over the big evergreen closest to the Inn and immediately came back to it when he caught sight of a flash of white and blond within the foliage.  He narrowed his eyes and frowned.

 

“Found him,” Zack announced, pointing at the tree.  “He’s just hanging there in the branches, like a scarecrow or something.”

 

The others hurried to Zack’s side and followed his pointing gesture with their eyes.  Cloud was the first to speak up. 

 

“How did he get all the way over there from the roof?” the blonde muttered.

 

“I was thinking maybe one of the Deepground flyers managed to sneak over here to spy and spotted him on the roof,” Zack answered thoughtfully.  “Maybe they tried to fly off with him and he struggled too much.  Maybe they dropped him in the tree and were too scared to hang around and get him out of it.”

 

“Maybe we should get him the fuck out of it and make sure he’s okay,” Reno snapped, his eyes wide and worried.

 

“He’s right,” Tseng agreed.  “He’s been out here exposed to the elements for too long.  I can’t even tell if he’s breathing, from here.”  The Turk leader’s jaw was tense, hinting that he was far more worried than he let on.

 

Zack spread his wings and flew over to the tree, hovering for a moment before finding an opening and going through.  He landed on one of the unbroken branches close to Rufus and he reached out to check his pulse with his fingers.  The president’s blond head was bowed and a soft snore escaped his lips just as Zack confirmed he still had a heartbeat. 

 

“He’s alive,” Zack informed the others just loud enough for them to hear him.  “I think someone needs to get down on the ground and be ready to catch him if he falls while I’m untangling him.  Plus I don’t think I want to try to land on the roof with him…it’s too slippery.”

 

Cloud sat down on the edge of the roof and dropped off before anyone could say anything.  The blonde fighter landed lightly on the ground below and went to the base of the tree, looking up into the branches and bracing himself to catch Rufus if he dropped. 

 

“I’ll go back inside to the room and open a window,” Tseng offered.  “You can carry him to it and we’ll tell the others that know of his vanishing act that he was found in the attic.”  His dark eyes regarded them each in turn.  “The truth of where he ended up is to remain between us, understood?”

 

“Got it,” Reno agreed.  Rude nodded silently and so did Cloud.  Zack shrugged, more worried about how he was going to get Rufus free from the branches without dropping him than what people would think of the president getting caught up in a pine tree.

 

“I think I can get him out of his coat,” Zack muttered.  “I’ve just got to move down a little and find a foothold so I can have a good hold on him when I do it.”

 

  Ordinarily he wouldn’t worry that he couldn’t pull it off, but he’d had a very clumsy day so far and he didn’t want to risk getting the man’s neck broken just to salve his pride.  While Reno and Rude waited in tense silence, Zack worked his way through the branches and braced himself as wrapped one arm around Rufus to lift him and reached up with his free hand to struggle with the coat.  The president dropped a little and Zack inadvertently grabbed his ass when he shifted him to get a tighter hold.

 

Zack frowned again—severely this time—as his hand brushed against something…furry.  He leaned around the blonde’s unconscious body and looked down.  Since his coat was bunched up in the branches, there was nothing covering Rufus’s backside save for the insulated pants he wore.  Zack stared when he saw what was poking through a hole in the back of them.

 

“Hey guys?” Zack called out.  “Did any of you know President Shinra has a tail?”

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

Tseng helped Zack get Rufus through the window and he immediately started putting him to bed.

 

“Aren’t you going to get him out of those clothes first?” Zack questioned lightly, crossing his arms over his chest.  Cloud came through the bedroom door a moment later and shut it behind him and Rude came down out of the attic.  Reno followed shortly after and closed the panel in the ceiling.

 

“I don’t think he’d want an audience,” Tseng murmured evasively.

 

“Nothing any of us haven’t seen before,” Reno said as he hopped down from the chair and looked at his superior with a glint in his eye.  “Well, except Zack.  The rest of us have seen it all…right boss?’

 

Tseng looked at each of them in turn.  Rude stood beside his partner, his chiseled features stony and unyielding.  Cloud stood by the door and regarded Tseng with expectant sapphire eyes.  Zack stayed near the bed, watching with interest to see what would happen.

 

“Something wrong, boss?” asked Reno as he moved closer.  “You’re taking your time getting him settled in and he’s been out there for a while.  We’re not going anywhere until we know he’s all right.  I could call for a medic if ya want—”

 

 “No,” Tseng interrupted quickly…too quickly.  He sighed and lowered his eyes.  “No, don’t call for a medic.  I assume you discovered the new…feature the president has while you were retrieving him from the tree, correct?”

 

“So you _did_ know about it and you _have_ been keeping it from us,” Reno accused.  “He breathed some of that shit on the first day we fought, right?  I _knew_ something was off and you tried to keep it from us!”

 

“Rufus wasn’t ready for anyone else to know,” Tseng murmured, turning his attention back to his lover.  He could explain while he got Rufus changed into something for bed and cleaned up a bit.  He wrinkled his nose at the smell of stale scotch he detected on him.  “I only found out because I barged in on him when he wasn’t dressed.  He probably would have kept it from me as well, otherwise.”

 

“So how does that excuse not telling us?” Reno growled, even as he crossed the room to help Tseng with their lover.  “How would you have liked it if I kept it from you when I noticed him coming down with the Geostigma?”

 

“This is different,” Tseng murmured. 

 

“I beg your pardon,” Rude cut in firmly, “but it’s not.”

 

“He’s right, yo,” Reno agreed with a nod at his partner.  “Just because the gas gave him a tail instead of a disease wasn’t a good reason to hide it from us, Tseng.”

 

“He’s the leader of your organization,” added Cloud.  “You should have at least told a doctor.”

 

“Do you think I don’t _know_ that?” Tseng snapped at all of them, his frustration showing through.  “I have been doing everything in my power to respect his wishes for privacy without compromising his well-being!  I knocked him unconscious and had him held against his will to keep him out of battle!  How _dare_ any of you accuse me of not thinking of his safety?”

 

“I think I’m going to mosey out of this conversation,” Zack said uncomfortably, his drawl sneaking into his voice.  This really didn’t involve him the way it did the others and he’d only stayed in the first place because he’d been the one to discover the tail.  He started to edge toward the door but Tseng’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

 

“No, you’re involved in this now Zackary…whether you like it or not,” the Wutaian said firmly.

 

“How does it involve me?” asked the fighter.  “Sounds to me like I’m in the middle of a giant lover’s spat and that’s got nothing at all to do with me.”

 

Cloud hid a smile behind his hand and Reno smirked as he unbuttoned the president’s shirt. 

 

“You’re involved because you _know_ about the tail,” explained Tseng.  “I need you to swear that you’ll keep this to yourself.”

 

“Fine, I swear,” Zack said, holding one hand up with the palm facing out.  “Scout’s honor.  I still say you should get a doctor in here to look at him, though.  He’s had too much to drink and he’s been hanging in a tree passed out for over an hour.  Can’t be good for him.”

 

Rude nodded with agreement and Cloud looked at Tseng imploringly.  The Turk leader looked down at Rufus’s pale face and sighed.  “Do any of you know any doctors you think can be trusted to keep this to themselves?  We don’t need people panicking right now, so until this is over we need to keep his condition quiet.”

 

“I’m pretty sure my doctor’s here somewhere,” Zack said.  “I normally hate doctors but he’s okay.  Want me to look for him?”

 

“If you think he can be trusted, then yes.” 

 

Zack nodded and went out the door.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

They had Rufus sponged off and changed into a pair of pajama pants with a hole in the back for his tail by the time Zack returned with Doctor Green.  The black-haired fighter introduced him to them and the medic went to Rufus’s side and put his bag on the bed.

 

“Zack tells me the president has an unusual condition,” Dr. Green said as he took out his stethoscope and equipped it.

 

“Yes,” Tseng agreed.  He explained what happened with the gas and why Rufus had wanted to keep his condition a secret.

 

Dr. Green nodded and bent over to listen to the president’s heart.  “I understand his concerns,” he said as he moved the stethoscope from one spot to the next over Rufus’s bare chest, “but health really should have come first.  As his subordinate, I know you were in a difficult position.”  He smelled the liquor on Rufus’s breath and he gently lifted one of the blonde’s eyelids.

 

“This man,” announced Dr. Green in a disapproving tone, “is very, very intoxicated.”

 

Reno held up the three-fourths empty scotch bottle and shook it.  “Yup.  He decided if he couldn’t fight he’d just get wasted instead.”

 

Dr. Green looked at the bottle with a frown.  “Is that all the alcohol he’s had, or did he empty another one as well?”

 

“That’s it,” Cloud confirmed.

 

The medic sighed.  “Well, I’d like to take a blood test all the same.  He’s not quite as much in danger of alcohol poisoning as I feared, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

 

They waited while he drew a little blood and checked Rufus’s other vitals.  When he was finished with that, the doctor dug through his bags until he pulled out a vial of yellow-colored medicine.  He drew a dose of it with a syringe and prepared to administer the injection.

 

“Wait, what is that?” Tseng asked.

 

“Just a little something to help him detox faster,” explained the doctor.  “Aside from leaving you a bottle of aspirin for when he wakes up, there’s not much else I can do for him.  He’s not suffering from hypothermia or any serious injuries that I can see, but I’d like to have a better look at him after I administer this injection.”

 

Tseng had a faint expression of dread on his face but he didn’t argue.  They waited for the doctor to finish giving Rufus the shot and then they rolled him over and showed him the tail.  Dr. Green showed mild surprise, but he’d been working with patients suffering mutations since he’d arrived so he wasn’t shocked.

 

“I can understand why the president was reluctant to allow this to be public knowledge,” the doctor said.  “Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do yet to reverse these alterations, but frankly the recipients seem to benefit more from them than suffer.  Depending on the individual it seems to enhance certain senses as well as trigger the growth of uh…spare parts.  My guess is that the tail provides a counterweight balance and his leg muscles have probably strengthened and become more elastic.”

 

“That seems to be the case,” Tseng agreed.

 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it right now,” Dr. Green sighed.  “I would like it if the president would consent to some lab tests when we’re finished here, though.  So far these mutations aren’t reversible but with time, we may discover a means to change that.”

 

“I’ll talk to him about it when he recovers,” promised the Turk leader.  “Thank you, doctor.”

 

“My pleasure.”  Doctor Green looked at Zack and frowned at his black eye.  “You look like you took a bit of a beating, son.”

 

Zack shrugged.  “It’s no big deal.  A helicopter beat me up.”  He glanced wryly at Reno, who had the grace to look a little shamed. 

 

“A helicopter,” repeated the doctor in a mystified tone.  He shook his head and chuckled.  “Well, as long as you aren’t seriously injured, I suppose you’ll be all right.  Put some ice on those bruises, Zackary.”

 

“Will do, doc,” promised the fighter.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Vincent awoke to find Reeve lying beside him.  He tried to sit up and he gasped at the swift pain in his torso.  Pulling the covers aside, he looked down at the newly healed wound and recalled what had happened to him.  The fresh scar was pink but he knew it would rapidly fade and shrink as his cells regenerated.  If it weren’t such a severe wound, it might not have left a scar at all.  Only the worst injuries scarred his body permanently, these days.

 

Reeve stirred and lifted his head.  “Welcome back to the land of the living,” he yawned.  He reached out and stroked the gunman’s silky hair.  “How do you feel?”

 

“I have pain, but it tells me I’m alive,” Vincent murmured.  He rolled onto his side and watched his lover, admiring his handsome features.  “The last thing I remember was you screaming in my face.”

 

Reeve chuckled.  “I apologize.  You were fading rather quickly and I knew that your best chance of survival was to change forms and heal the injury.  Our Cure materia was wiped out and I didn’t think the medics could see to your wound quickly enough to save you.”

 

“You don’t have to explain,” Vincent said with a faint smile.  “I know why you did it.  So tell me, how did the rest of the battle go?”

 

This was the tricky part.  Reeve knew that he couldn’t tell Vincent that their side had decimated the enemy forces to the point where there was little resistance left, without informing him of his part in it.  As much as the engineer dreaded it, he had to tell Vincent the truth and face his lecture.

 

“The battle is all but finished,” Reeve said carefully.  “Uh, we used that new canon I designed and it did a pretty good job of taking out a substantial chunk of the Deepground army.  There isn’t much left for us to do except find and capture Weiss, but we still don’t know where he’s holed up at.”

 

Vincent looked impressed.  “I’m proud that your new invention turned the tide so quickly,” he said truthfully.  “Did your people have any difficulty operating it?”

 

“Er…no,” Reeve grimaced.  “Actually, I operated it myself.  I didn’t see the point in wasting time trying to explain it to someone else, so I took it out onto the field.”

 

Vincent’s ruby eyes narrowed.  “You put yourself in the middle of combat.”

 

“Technically, I didn’t,” Reeve argued, “I stayed far enough behind allied lines to be safe enough.”

 

“Not from their flyers,” Vincent countered.

 

“It’s all right,” the engineer said hastily, “Cloud was with me the whole time and none of them got close enough to strike at me.”

 

Vincent sighed, his grim expression remaining on his marble features.  “I thought we had an agreement, Reeve.  I didn’t want you putting yourself in harm’s way unless there was no other option.”

 

“You were lying there half-dead,” the other man said firmly, with a scowl of his own.  “Would you really expect me to _not_ seek retribution?  Would you have sat idly by if it had been me?”

 

Vincent’s scowl wavered and he lowered his eyes.  “I…that’s different.”

 

“Pardon me, but bullshit,” Reeve snapped.  Despite his harsh words, his touch was gentle as he traced the sculpted features of Vincent’s face.  “I _love_ you, Vincent.  I have as much right as any man to loose my cool and kick some ass when it counts.”

 

Vincent opened his mouth to argue, but he really didn’t have a good response.  He pressed his lips together in annoyance and nodded curtly.  “You win this round, Tuesti.”

 

Reeve smirked.  Winning an argument with Vincent took a lot of work.  He combed his fingers through the gunman’s dark hair and moved in for a kiss.  At first, Vincent’s lips were unyielding but it didn’t take long for them to soften against Reeve’s and part.  The engineer traced them with his tongue before sliding it in to caress inside.  Vincent returned the kiss and his arm went around Reeve’s waist as if of its own volition. 

 

“Unfair,” Vincent murmured against the other man’s mouth, his body reacting to Reeve’s skilled kiss despite his weakened state.  The engineer’s response was to caress his bared chest with his calloused palm and drag his hand over the skin, making it tingle with awareness.

 

“I think it’s very fair, personally,” Reeve mumbled.  He gently rolled Vincent onto his back and stretched out on top of him, trailing soft, sensual kisses over his jaw and neck.  His caressing hand moved lower, stroking over the various scars on the pale, velvety skin.  He started undoing Vincent’s pants, determined to at least give his lover pleasure even if he was too weak for full-on lovemaking.

 

“Reeve,” Vincent breathed huskily, lifting his hips and pressing into the other man’s touch as he cupped his hardening crotch.

 

“Tell me if I’m going too far,” Reeve whispered.  “You’re the only one of the two of us that knows how much you can take right now.”

 

Vincent kissed him deeply, groaning into his mouth as his leather pants were opened and his cock was eased out of its confinement.  The other man’s hand felt wonderful on his swelling shaft and Vincent’s breath quickened with desire.  There was no way in hell he intended to let Reeve stop now.  He began working the engineer’s clothing off of his body, needing to feel him inside.  He got the shirt open and he immediately ran his hands over Reeve’s chest, admiring the toned muscles and the dusting of dark hair over it.  He was so…masculine.  Completely the opposite of what Vincent would have imagined himself going for, if he could have imagined himself with anyone at all in the first place.

 

“Too slow,” Vincent growled as he fumbled with Reeve’s clothing impatiently.  He _needed_ his lover naked, needed to feel his flesh pressing against his own. 

 

“Calm down,” Reeve said with an amused grin.  “I’ll help you.” 

 

Vincent nodded and together, they got the engineer’s clothing off first.  Reeve chuckled again, realizing that while he’d started undressing Vincent first, he’d ended up beating him to nudity. 

 

“Have I told you how much I love it when you get this excited and demanding?” the engineer murmured huskily against the skin of Vincent’s neck.  The gunman’s hands were all over him, caressing, scratching, fondling.  In his time as Reeve’s lover, he’d learned how to touch his body with his clawed hand without damaging it.  Reeve shivered with delight as the metal points skimmed teasingly over his back, making goose bumps spring up.

 

Their efforts became more frantic as their hunger for one another grew and before long, Vincent’s pants were pooled on the floor next to Reeve’s clothing.  Reeve had procured a condom packet and the lube from the nightstand and he began to prepare Vincent with loving care, muffling the gunman’s soft moans and gasps with kisses as he worked his entrance with his fingers.

 

“Now, Reeve,” demanded the gunman in a lusty voice.  “I want you now.”

 

“You aren’t ready yet,” argued the engineer with a frown.  Vincent was still tight and clenching around him and while he suffered no delusions of grandeur about the size of his junk, Reeve was big enough to be proud.  If he started taking his lover now, he’d cause pain at worst and moderate discomfort at best.

 

“I don’t care,” Vincent growled, nipping the engineer impatiently on the throat.

 

“You’re absolutely certain?” Reeve queried breathlessly, his dick bucking with eagerness.

 

Vincent nodded, gazing up at him with bright, passionate eyes. “I’ve endured worse discomfort without the promise of pleasure afterwards.  Put the condom on.”

 

Reeve was too hot by now to argue further.  He opened the packet hastily and Vincent helped him roll the condom over his swollen cock.  The lube came next and Reeve sucked in a heavy breath as Vincent massaged it over his shaft. 

 

“That almost feels _too_ good,” sighed the engineer.  He felt like he was throbbing all over with pleasure and need as his lover stroked him.  Vincent wasn’t shy about his touches anymore.  It hadn’t taken long at all for him to gain confidence and skill.  He was such a fast learner that he’d taken Reeve by surprise, in fact.  Even though the gunman tended to bottom, his mannerisms were anything but timid or submissive.

 

Reeve eased off of his lover, not wanting to put his weight on him for long until he was fully healed from his injury.  He coaxed Vincent onto his side and spooned against him, embracing him as he positioned himself and began to push into his tight heat.  Reeve paused when Vincent gasped sharply but the gunman was relaxed against him, hot and eager.  He continued until the head was in and he waited for another moment for Vincent to adjust before rocking forward some more.

 

“God, you feel good,” Reeve gasped, his mouth brushing over the creamy pale skin of Vincent’s shoulder.  He began to rock against him gently and he moved his embracing arm to reach down and grasp the gunman’s stiff cock.  A soft, uncommon whimper escaped Vincent’s parted lips and Reeve smiled and stroked him slowly.

 

“Am I satisfying you, love?” Reeve murmured between kisses.  He dragged his mouth up to the shell of Vincent’s ear and he kissed it teasingly as he increased the speed and force of his rhythmic thrusting.

 

A moan burst from Vincent’s mouth in answer and Reeve murmured husky endearments to him, his breath tickling his ear and making a shiver race down his spine.  Vincent began to rock back against the thrusts, greedily taking every inch of the engineer’s cock.  The embraced lovers shifted until they found the ideal angle for Vincent and his eyes fluttered shut with pleasure.  The rigid length pumping forward and back inside of his body massaged his most sensitive spot and soon, he was trembling and tensing in Reeve’s arms.

 

“Harder,” Vincent demanded in a breathy growl.

 

Reeve obliged him and matched the rhythm of his thrusts with the stroking of his hand.  His efforts were rewarded with a loud groan of approval from Vincent.  The gunman turned his head and kissed him on the mouth, his tongue flicking against Reeve’s with carnal invitation.  Reeve thrust his tongue into Vincent’s mouth and kissed him hard.  He rubbed the tender cap of the other man’s sex and made him shudder.

 

“I can’t last,” Vincent panted against the engineer’s lips.  The pleasure and tension were growing quickly to an explosive finale.  The skilled fingers continued to rub the tip of his cock in gentle circles and Vincent hissed and leaned his head back against Reeve’s shoulder as his peak struck him.  He groaned as he spurted rhythmically against the engineer’s caressing fingers, soaking them with his seed. 

 

Reeve’s breath caught as Vincent’s ass clenched around his sex.  He pushed hard and deep into the gunman and moaned as he came inside of him.  He was beyond caring if anyone in the rooms next to his heard his loud exclamation of pleasure.  When he stopped twitching inside of his lover, his strength bled out of him and he collapsed, still buried to the hilt and holding Vincent’s spent cock in one hand.

 

“I wish we could spend the rest of our lives just doing _that_ together,” Reeve panted.  He nuzzled Vincent’s neck and gently stroked the softening length of his cock.

 

Vincent snuggled against him, breathing heavily from his release as well.  He didn’t complain about Reeve petting his sated shaft.  It felt pleasant and the engineer was avoiding the highly sensitized tip. 

 

“We’d never get anything done,” Vincent whispered with a little smile.

 

Reeve chuckled and released his sex to embrace him.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Rude was outside on a hill, looking down at the activities in town while indulging in one of his rarely exercised guilty pleasures.  He puffed on the cigar he’d gotten from Cid and enjoyed the smooth flavor of the smoke.  He blew some rings and watched them float away and break apart in the chill winter air.  A light snow had begun to fall, which could be potentially harmful to the alliance efforts if it picked up and covered the ground too thickly.  Of course, after Reeve’s stunt with that canon of his, the Deepground forces were so thin now that even heavy snowdrifts weren’t likely to impact the outcome of tomorrow’s battle.

 

Reno was spending the night in Cloud and Zack’s room, so Rude was going to have the room he’d been sharing with his partner all to himself.  The bald man didn’t mind.  He’d gotten plenty of attention from his partner since this all began and if he really wanted company, he could join Tseng in Rufus’s room.  The boss was still passed out and Rude didn’t envy Tseng the consequences he would face for his insubordination when Rufus woke up.

 

“How do you see at night, with those things on?”

 

Rude jumped a little, startled by the sudden voice behind him.  He turned to face Genesis and the greeting he’d been ready to give died on his lips at the sight of him.  The man was covered in blood.  Dark, drying splotches of it splattered his clothing and the wing sprouting from his left shoulder.  There were crusted patches of it on his neck and face, too.  The redhead staggered a little and Rude wondered how much of the blood was his.

 

“What happened to you?”  Rude’s tone was neutral but his eyes were concerned behind the concealing shades.

 

“A disagreement,” Genesis shrugged.  He winced at the motion and Rude noticed the gashes in the left sleeve of his jacket, on the upper arm. 

 

“Must have been a hell of a ‘disagreement’,” Rude mumbled.  He put his cigar out in the snow and took a couple of steps toward Genesis.  “I think you need a doctor, man.”

 

“It’s only a scratch,” assured the redhead.  He staggered a little and paled despite his casual statement.  “It’s the poison doing this to me.  My body is neutralizing it but not quite fast enough to suit me.”

 

Rude knew he was feeling worse than he let on.  Usually Genesis spoke in a lyrical way, even when he didn’t quote some poem or another.  The redhead’s voice sounded unusually dull and flat to Rude’s trained ears.  He studied Genesis covertly, noting the slight gauntness in his pale features.

 

“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”  Rude knew suddenly that if Reno were here to witness this, he’d be calling him a “teddy bear” right about now.

 

“Days, maybe,” Genesis sighed.  “I can’t remember.  My thoughts are…sluggish right now.”  He frowned, trying to remember when he’d caught those rabbits and made a stew from them.  Was it yesterday?  The day before?  He was fairly good at hunting but sometimes he just didn’t get lucky with his prey.  He shook his head.  He hadn’t come to discuss his eating habits with the Turk.

 

“It doesn’t matter.  I have information for you to pass on to your superiors.”

 

Rude nodded and waited patiently.

 

Taking the hint, Genesis continued: “I’ve decided to tell you where you can find Weiss, before it’s too late and he escapes.  If your people want to end this for good, they need to capture him.  Perhaps he can be rehabilitated or perhaps not.  As long as he’s procured without harm and taken care of, I’ll be satisfied that our bargain was honored.”

 

“I’ll do what I can to ensure that,” Rude promised.  He reached into his jacket and produced a small pad of paper and a pen before nodding at the redhead to go on.  Genesis gave him the location coordinates and a description of the landscape surrounding it, and Rude wrote it all down.

 

“Go and tell them now,” Genesis urged.  He staggered again and quickly put a hand to his mouth, attempting to turn at the same time to hide his reaction from the Turk.

 

“You’re sick,” Rude said with certainty.  “You should come into town and get medical help.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” Genesis said thickly…though in truth he was expending all his effort not to fall to his knees and dry heave in front of the handsome Turk. 

 

_~No!  Not now!  Minerva help me, I don’t want to…to…~_

Genesis panted softly and blinked as the annoying black spots obscured his vision.  He managed to keep standing upright but he feared that if Rude didn’t leave soon, he’d be witness to him falling face-first into the snow.  A strong arm was suddenly around his waist and a warm, hard body was pressing against his side.

 

“You’re coming with me,” Rude stated firmly.  His expression was hard and grim, brooking no arguments.

 

Genesis blinked at him, trying to bring his face into focus.  He simply didn’t have the strength to fight against the other man as Rude began to guide him back to town with him, supporting him firmly with one arm and practically dragging him along. 

 

~*****************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

    

 

 

 


	27. Chapter 27

“Alliance”

Chapter 27

~**********************************~

* * *

 

The first thing that Rude did was to help Genesis into the Inn and up the stairs to his room.  He flat-out ignored the redhead’s weak protests and got him to the bed.

 

“Stay here,” Rude said firmly.  He didn’t wait to see if he’d be obeyed. 

 

He left Genesis in his room, went to Rufus and Tseng’s door and knocked on it.  He’d heard the faint sounds of pleasure coming from Reeve’s room so he knew the WRO leader was preoccupied.  He couldn’t give the information to Cloud either, knowing that if his partner was in there with the blonde and Zack, they were all more than likely involved in some kind of sexual activity.  Tseng was the only one in a leadership role within the armies that Rude knew he wouldn’t be interrupting, since Rufus was still passed out drunk.

 

“Sorry to bother you Sir,” Rude said when the Wutaian came to the door and regarded him curiously.  “I have information pertaining to Weiss’s location and the others are…busy.”

 

Tseng took the piece of paper that Rude offered him and he examined it thoughtfully.  “This is authentic?  It can be trusted?”

 

“I think so,” Rude said with confidence.  “So far, Genesis hasn’t lied to us.  I don’t think he has a reason to start now.”

 

Tseng frowned and considered it.  “Where is he now?”

 

“In my room.”  Rude straightened his tie uncomfortably and he wasn’t disappointed when Tseng raised an elegant, politely questioning eyebrow at him.  “He’s been injured in a fight.  I’m about to get a medic to look at him.”

 

“It must be a grave injury to put Genesis in a bad state,” Tseng murmured.

 

“The wound is poisoned,” Rude supplied.  “He claims it’s much better than it was before, but I want a doctor to look at him anyhow.”

 

Tseng smiled subtly.  “Of course you do.  I’m sure our newest ally is in good hands, Rude.”  He was too well bred to tease the conservative bald man further than that.  “Thank you for bringing this to me.  Now that the Deepground armies are so thinned out, we may be able to send a strike team in before sunrise to retrieve Weiss, before he can get the chance to run.”

 

Rude was torn.  He wanted to look after Genesis but he had a responsibility to his organization, after all.  “I’ll be happy to join the strike if you need me to.”

 

“I think the rest of our army can handle this,” Tseng said dismissively.  “Unless Genesis wasn’t being truthful about Weiss being in a weakened state.”  The Wutaian studied his bald companion silently for a moment.  Rude wasn’t the sort of man to trust outsiders easily.  He believed that if Genesis had earned that, there was little chance he was deceiving them.

 

“Why don’t you see to our new friend, while I take care of this,” Tseng finally said.  “I doubt our presence is a requirement to ensure it gets done and if we need to send in more specialized people, I can send for you and the others.”

 

Rude nodded.  “Of course.  I’ll be on standbye.”

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

 

Fitting three grown men into a small shower might have seemed like an impossible task, but Zack’s determination and Reno’s agility enabled both of them to squeeze in with Cloud despite his protests.  The blonde’s claustrophobia rapidly faded as his two lovers’ slick bodies pressed against his and they sandwiched him between them.  Somehow, the three of them got cleaned up without too much horseplay, though Zack and Reno stumbled out first in a fit of laughter while Cloud washed the shampoo out of his eyes.

 

“You guys are going to pay for this,” Cloud grumbled as the other men dried off and made their escape before he could finish.

 

Reno was a little disappointed when Zack put on a pair of boxer briefs and followed up with pajama bottoms, but the Turk was confident that he could get him back out of the meager clothing before the night was finished.  He changed into the pair of sweats he’d brought to the room and blow-dried his hair while Zack towel-dried his own and started surfing through the few TV channels available.

 

“Hey Zack,” Reno said once he finished drying and fluffing his hair.  He left it hanging loose down his back and he approached the other man, who was standing near the bed by the window.  “I haven’t told ya my fantasy yet.”

 

Zack looked wolfishly curious.  “Yeah?  What’s this fantasy of yours, Red?”

 

“It involves you, a couple sets of handcuffs and the bed,” answered Reno readily.  Just the thought of having a hot young piece of ass like Fair at his mercy made Reno squirm restlessly.

 

“So you want to handcuff me to the bed?”  Zack was grinning with intrigue, not seeming the least bit put-off by the suggestion.

 

Cloud snorted.  “He never bothers to ask _me_ first.”

 

Reno chuckled at the blonde, who had just come out of the shower and was towel-drying his hair.  “I didn’t bang you up in my chopper, either.  I’m just asking as a courtesy to Zack after the bruises I gave him, man.”

 

_~Besides, he’s even stronger than you are baby, and I know if you can snap steel handcuffs when you want to, Zack could probably break out of ‘em as soon as I clamp the damned things on him.~_

“Afraid I’ll hurt you if I’m not restrained?” Zack murmured to the redhead with a wink.

 

“If you were gonna ‘hurt me’, you’d have already done it by now,” Reno said with certainty.  “What’s the matter, hot shot?  Afraid of what I’ll do to you if I’ve got ya at my mercy?”

 

Zack’s gaze was level on him as he shook his head.  “Not even remotely, foxy.  Whatever you’d do to me would probably be a lot of fun.”  The swelling over his eye had already gone away and the discoloration was fading quickly.  Whether it was a result of the G-cells in his body or Mako enhancement that made him heal so fast, Reno couldn’t guess.

 

The redhead leaned closer to the taller man, breathing in his scent with enjoyment.  “I made a promise that day on the boat after ya played your little eye game with me, Fair.  Wanna know what it was?”

 

Zack leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, smirking with delight as he nodded.  “Why don’t you whisper it in my ear, cinnamon buns?”

 

Reno was already hardening in his pants and the sight of Cloud out the corner of his eye, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, only served to make the Turk’s condition grow more pronounced.  He took Zack’s seductive little challenge and he cupped the back of the former Soldier’s head as he brought his mouth close to his ear.

 

“That day ya teased me on the ship, I swore I’d ride you ‘till you buckle when this was over with,” purred the redhead hotly.  “I’d say it’s close enough to that time to go for it a little early, yo.”  He caught Zack’s earlobe between his teeth and tugged on it as he pressed his body flush against the fighter’s larger frame.

 

Zack impulsively slid his hands around Reno’s waist and closed his eyes as the Turk’s ear nibbling made a thrill of lust shoot through his body.  His slowly waking cock abruptly hardened completely in his pants, making him grunt with discomfort at the feeling of being a little smushed.  His package wasn’t adjusted for this condition and he shifted in an attempt to ease the pressure.

 

Cloud watched the exchange and his face heated—not with embarrassment, but with desire.  He couldn’t see Reno’s face from his vantage point but the expression on Zack’s face was hot.  The blonde silently listened, waiting to hear what sort of comeback the black-haired fighter would give.  The banter between his two lovers was practically pornographic at times; they were so naturally sensual and sexy together.  He decided he could not only get used to threesomes with them, but also thrive on it.

 

“’Till I buckle, eh?” Zack murmured.  He pulled back and looked Reno in the eye with a challenging stare.  “That’ll take a lot of riding.  You sure you’re up for it, Reno?”

 

The redhead tossed a wink over his shoulder at Cloud.  “He doesn’t know me very well, does he Blondie?”

 

Cloud smirked and shook his head.  “Watch it, Zack.”

 

The dark-haired man chuckled.  “Wow, sounds like you’ve already broken our chocobo in.  You must be a pretty talented rider, foxy.”  Of course, he knew that much was true already but he was getting the feeling that he’d only gotten a taste of Reno’s “riding” skills that morning when the three of them had their first group encounter.

 

“Baby, you’ve got no idea,” Reno promised.  He slid a hand down Zack’s back and squeezed his ass, delighting in the toned firmness of it.  “Why don’t you get this tight ass in the bed and get ready for branding, yo.”

 

“Okay, but I should warn you,” Zack said as he considered that Reno might not just be joking about the branding thing, “If I actually see a hot iron heading my way I’ll be out that window faster than you can spit.”

 

Reno laughed and swatted his bottom.  “You can never tell with a crazy fucker like me, Fair.  Now go get comfortable for me.  Blondie, why don’t you help him out?”

 

All the talk of “branding” reminded Cloud of something.  He’d been waiting for the right moment to show Zack what he’d bought for him before they left Junon to go on this mission and now was the perfect opportunity.  While the dark-haired man got into bed, Cloud went to his duffle bag and unzipped one of the inner side pockets, searching for the little box he’d stored in there. 

 

Zack saw his lover approach the bed with a little black box in his hand and he raised his eyebrows with interest.  He’d thought that Cloud was procuring lube or something from his bag, so he was understandably confused when he produced the mysterious container instead. 

 

“Do you remember saying you wanted me to pick out a stud and pierce your ear for you?” Cloud murmured, cursing himself as a sudden attack of shyness assaulted him.  Zack had quite literally said it would be like he was branding him as his.  This occasion was perfect for it.

 

“Oh yeah,” Zack answered with a nod and a grin.  “So let’s see what you picked out for me, sexy thing.”

 

Cloud opened the box and showed him the single stud that was resting in the velvet interior.  “I hope this is okay.  I know you like things to be simple so I didn’t get anything real fancy.”

 

Zack examined the earring.  It was a small, plain silver ball—just like the one he used to have.  He smiled and nodded.  “It’s perfect, Cloudy.  Do you have a needle?”

 

Cloud nodded and pulled the little tab at the bottom of the velvet part of the box, lifting it and the stud to reveal a single needle resting underneath in the bottom of the box.  “If you’re having second thoughts, you’d better say something now,” the blonde warned with a little smile.

 

Zack shook his head.  “Wouldn’t dream of saying ‘no’.”

 

“Damn, that’s hot,” observed Reno, pausing as he approached with two pairs of cuffs.  “Hold up on that, Blondie.  You don’t wanna tag a wolf without restraining him first, ya know?  I’ll cuff him before you do it.”

 

Zack laughed with appreciation for the metaphor.  “Woof,” he barked softly, following up with a playful growl.  Cloud was suddenly kissing him with passion that threw him off guard. 

 

_~Damn, these two really get into this wolf business.  I guess I didn’t do too bad when I wasn’t myself after all.~_

“Wish I had that collar and leash Rufus got for me,” Cloud murmured after he forced himself to stop ravishing Zack’s mouth.  He immediately regretted the statement when he saw the shocked, interested expression on Zack’s face.  “Umm…I didn’t meant to say that out loud.”

 

“Collar and leash?” Zack queried.  If he really had wolf ears, they’d be perked to attention right about now.  “What’s this juicy bit of kink you let slip?”

 

Reno quickly went to his blazer and got his cellphone out.  “Here, I’ll show ya.”

 

“Don’t you dare,” Cloud warned, his eyes huge in his fair face.

 

“Oh come on, Blondie,” groused the redhead.  “Just let him have a peek!  It’ll probably get him in just the right mood, yo.”

 

Zack fidgeted and glanced down at the conspicuous bulge in the crotch of his pants.  “I’d say I’m already there,” he announced.  Reno came to the bedside and showed him a picture on his cellphone that made his jaw drop.  Cloud reached for the device a moment later but it was too late…the damage had been done.

 

“Now, _that’s_ a picture to write home about,” Zack smirked.  “You should use it as your screensaver or something, Red.  Cloud and his pet cougar…I like it.  Never thought Rufus Shinra would be the sort to go for being leashed like that.”

 

Cloud’s face was a lovely shade of pink and both Zack and Reno chuckled with amusement at him. 

 

“How does a guy getting ready for a threesome manage to blush like that over a little snapshot?” Reno wondered aloud. 

 

“That’s what makes him so damned cute,” Zack said with a wink at the redhead.  “So how do you want me, foxy?”

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

Rude found a medic and returned to his room with her.  He half-expected to find the room empty, but Genesis was reclining on the bed where he’d left him.  The redhead’s wing was retracted and he’d removed his boots so that he wouldn’t mess up the covers.  He looked up as Rude and the medic entered the room and his aqua eyes were wary and thoughtful, as if he was trying to decide whether to stay or go.

 

“Just let her have a look at your arm and give you an antidote,” Rude insisted as he stood aside to let the medic in.  “That’s all she wants to do, man.”

 

Genesis regarded the medic for a moment before nodding his consent.  She approached and set her bag on the edge of the bed before coaxing him to sit up and take his jacket off.  Genesis complied slowly, his movements sluggish and uncoordinated.  Rude frowned.  If the winged fighter was really doing better now than he was before, he wondered how he’d even managed to fly to Icicle to speak with him. 

 

“Okay, let’s have a look at you,” the medic said in a gentle voice as she helped Genesis get his jacket off.  She frowned at the blood-caked shirtsleeve.  It was long and it was in her way.  “Sir, I’ll need you to remove your shirt as well.  I can’t get a clear look at the wound with the material in the way and it’s probably going to need disinfecting.”

 

Genesis heaved a sigh and leaned his head back against the headboard.  “Gifts of healing for a barren soul,” he mumbled.

 

“I beg pardon?” the medic asked with a quirked eyebrow.

 

“Here, I’ll help,” Rude said quickly, unable to explain Genesis’s penchant for spontaneous bursts of poetry and unwilling to even try.  He understood it on some level but he had no way to verbally impart that understanding to others. 

 

He approached the bed and looked at Genesis silently, waiting for him to give the nod before helping.  The redhead looked up at him with dilated eyes and started unbuckling the straps of the protective harness covering his midriff.  Rude took his expression to mean consent and he reached down to help him.  Genesis didn’t protest, so the Turk finished removing the piece of body armor and then helped him lift his arms to tug his shirt off.  Meanwhile, the medic had opened her bag and was retrieving gauze, antiseptic and bandages from it.

 

Rude kept his touch and gaze professional as he helped Genesis strip from the waist up.  Inwardly he admired the redhead’s build…though he imagined he was thinner than usual from malnutrition.  Genesis had a swimmer’s body—toned but slim.  He wasn’t as lean as Reno but his body was lithe and graceful.  Rude briefly glanced at the leather-encased, long legs stretched out over the bed and his face heated as he imagined them hugging him around the waist.  He quickly shoved such thoughts aside and backed off so that he wouldn’t crowd the doctor.

 

“Hmmm, how old is this wound?” She asked as she examined the three cuts on Genesis’s upper left arm.  “A couple of days?”

 

“A few hours,” he corrected.

 

She looked faintly incredulous.  “Hours?  But it’s healed as if—”

 

“I’ve been biologically enhanced,” Genesis interrupted softly.

 

She relaxed, familiar with the concept by now.  “I see.  Well, there’s some minor infection surrounding it.  I’ll need to lance it a bit and clean it out and then I’ll administer some antibiotics and antidote to you.  Is that acceptable?”

 

Genesis nodded.  Rude stood quietly while the medic did her work and Genesis didn’t complain except to silently wince as the wound was lanced and cleaned.  The doctor worked quickly and before long, she had the cuts cleaned and bandaged.  She gave him a shot of antibiotics before having him drink the antidote and she announced that he was showing signs of malnourishment.  When she suggested that he eat some soup, he shook his head and told her he wasn’t hungry.

 

“Okay, but you really need to get some nutrition as soon as you can hold down food,” she advised.  She looked at Rude.  “You’ll see to it that your friend eats when he’s able to, right?”

 

Rude nodded, ignoring the annoyed look Genesis shot at him.

 

“Then there’s nothing more I can do for now,” the medic finished.  She closed up her bag and Rude opened the door for her.  “You can find me here in town if you need me again.  I’m not assigned to the field so I’ll be flitting about here and there.”

 

“Thanks, doctor,” Rude said.  He shut the door behind her as she left and he turned around to face Genesis.  “You can sleep here.”

 

A flash of uncertainty flitted over the redhead’s face and Rude guessed that he was so used to being alone in the wilderness, he didn’t know how to respond to the offer. 

 

“It’s okay,” Rude assured him.  “I’ll take the floor.”

 

“It isn’t that,” Genesis protested.  “I…don’t belong here.”

 

“Bullshit,” the Turk said curtly.  “If Zack Fair belongs here, so do you.”

 

“Zack Fair doesn’t need redemption,” Genesis murmured.

 

Rude shrugged.  “So maybe the best way you can get it is by sticking with us.  Either way, you’re not leaving in your condition.”

 

The redhead’s lips curved at one corner.  “Is that right?”

 

Rude nodded.

 

Genesis studied him.  The Turk wasn’t making any threatening moves but he’d crossed his arms over his chest and his strong build left little doubt that even without special enhancements, Rude was more than capable of overpowering most opponents through brute strength.  He was blocking the door; which didn’t really matter considering that Genesis could fly out the window if he really wanted to.

 

The thing was, he didn’t want to leave—at least, not tonight.  The room was warm and comfortable and he couldn’t remember when the last time was that he’d slept on a real bed.  There was also the issue of his dizziness.  He wouldn’t admit it to Rude, but Genesis doubted he could grab his discarded clothing articles and make it out the window before the Turk stopped him.

 

“Fair enough,” Genesis finally said.  “I’ll accept your hospitality, for now.  I assume you’ve relayed the information I gave you concerning Weiss?”

 

“Yeah,” confirmed the Turk.  “They’re going to send in a strike to catch him.  With any luck he’ll be in custody by tomorrow.  Maybe you should at least stick around until then and try to eat something in the morning.”

 

“Let’s just play it by ear for now,” Genesis replied evasively.

 

Rude shrugged.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

 

Reno smiled crookedly and examined the headboard with shrewd eyes.  “Rest your arms on the top of the headboard,” he instructed. 

 

He put the cellphone on the nightstand and climbed onto the bed, straddling Zack’s hips as the black-haired fighter obeyed.  Luckily the bed wasn’t too wide for the cuffs to reach the knobs on the headboard once Zack stretched his arms out on either side.  Reno speedily secured the restraints over Zack’s wrists, one at a time.  He clamped the other end of each cuff set to the bed knobs, resulting in Zack sitting with his back against the headboard with his arms stretched out and restrained on either side.

 

“Beautiful,” Reno said with a satisfied nod.  “You’re gonna be a good wolfy, right?  No trying to break free until I’m finished with ya.”

 

Zack gave him a lazy, sexy grin.  “If you say so, Red.  I’ll let you have your way this time.”

 

Satisfied with the response and knowing that Zack was an honest enough guy to honor the promise, Reno eased off of him and went for the lube while Cloud got the needle out of the jewelry box.  The redhead grabbed his lighter out of his blazer along with the lube when he noticed the contemplative look on Cloud’s face and guessed he was worried about sterilizing the needle.

 

“Here, babe.  Use my lighter.”  Reno tossed the item to his lover and Cloud caught it.  Reno returned to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, combing his fingers through Zack’s thick, damp hair while Cloud passed the needle through the flame a few times.

 

“Right or left?” Cloud asked with a glance at Zack.

 

“Might as well go with the left, since you’re on that side,” Zack answered.  “Besides, that’s the ear I used to have pierced anyhow.  It’ll be nice to have it back the way it was.”

 

Cloud nodded and then swore softly as he realized there might be some blood.  “Crap…I need to grab some toilet paper or something before I do this.”

 

“Here,” Reno said as he opened the drawer of the nightstand on his side.  “Complimentary tissues, man.  Use one of these.”  He snagged one out of the little box and handed it over to the blonde.

 

Cloud took a tissue out and gazed into Zack’s eyes as Reno brushed his dark hair aside to expose his ear completely.  “It’s going to sting a little,” warned the blonde…though Zack had been through much more painful things than a little poke with a needle over the past few days alone.

 

Zack shrugged as best he could in his restrained state.  “Doesn’t bother me if I know its coming.  Have at it.”

 

Cloud pinched Zack’s earlobe between his thumb and two first fingers to hold it steady.  He centered the needle over it and swiftly pierced the flesh.  Zack gasped softly but held still.  There was something odd about the gasp…it didn’t seem pained so much as…aroused?  Cloud pulled the needle out and glanced at his lover’s face.  The telling flush over Zack’s cheekbones nearly made him drop the needle.

 

_~Holy shit…he really IS getting off on this!  I thought he was just blustering when he brought up the idea!~_

“Is it because of the sting, or because it’s me doing it?” Cloud blurted before he could stop himself.

 

Zack’s eyes opened to regard him.  They were heavy-lidded and sensual.  “Because it’s you,” he answered huskily.

 

Cloud swallowed and Reno squirmed.  The blonde folded the tissue in his hand and pinched it over Zack’s earlobe, holding it there with pressure for a few minutes to absorb the bleeding.  When he was satisfied, he plucked the silver stud out of the box and pushed it through the new hole.  Unreasonably turned on by the action, Cloud bit his lip and secured the back to the stud to hold it in place.

 

“There, all done,” announced Cloud. 

 

Reno had evidently come to the same conclusion that the look on Zack’s face was too sexy to resist.  The redhead leaned in to kiss Zack hungrily, making Cloud smirk with satisfaction.  At least he wasn’t the only one that got a kinky thrill out of it.  He reached out and combed his fingers through the Turk’s bright hair.  Reno hadn’t used any gel yet so it was soft and silky against Cloud’s skin.  The blonde wriggled further onto the bed and leaned over to nuzzle Reno’s neck and ear.  The redhead turned and kissed Cloud full on the lips, flicking his tongue against them teasingly.

 

Zack was already having problems controlling himself.  The sight of his two companions kissing like that made him strain against the cuffs and he didn’t realize he was doing it until he heard one of the chains creak warningly. 

 

_~Gotta take it easy and stay relaxed.  These things won’t hold if I lose my head.~_

 Fortunately, Cloud wasn’t so shy once he got wound up.  The blonde hardly flinched when Reno yanked his towel off to bare his nude body.  He made a soft sound of pleasure as the Turk reached between his legs and stroked his erection.  Zack squirmed again and his fingers curled into fists as he struggled with his reaction to the sight.  Reno didn’t spend a lot of time playing.  When Cloud’s breath quickened, the redhead smiled with satisfaction and stopped petting his cock. 

 

“How about you help me get ready for Wolfy?” Reno purred at Cloud.  “Or would you rather have the first ride?”

 

“You,” Cloud demanded with hot eyes.  He loved watching Reno do his thing and he was shamefully curious to see what Zack’s reactions would be when the redhead demonstrated his talent for topping even when he was the one taking it up the ass.  Reno handed him the lube and stretched out sidelong on the bed, resting his head on Zack’s thighs.

 

“Oh, man,” Zack grunted.  This really wasn’t fair, now.  Reno’s bright hair was spread out over his pajama pants and his right ear was pressing directly against the sable-haired fighter’s swollen crotch.  Reno turned his head and grinned up at him.

 

“Got a problem, Fair?”  The Turk looked like he could burst into laughter at any moment.

 

“No, but _you_ will if you tease me too much,” Zack promised, his jaw tense.

 

“You both talk too much,” Cloud grumbled.  He tugged Reno’s underwear down without ceremony, dropping it on the floor.  He stretched out on top of Reno and kissed his grinning mouth, silencing any other cheeky remarks the Turk might have made.  They both felt it when Zack shifted and Cloud paused in his kissing to look up at the other fighter.

 

“Impatient.”  The blonde tried to hide his smirk but he failed.

 

“I don’t see _you_ cuffed and stuck watching,” Zack reasoned.  His eyes were blazing down at him with lust.

 

“I’ve been cuffed plenty of times, thanks,” Cloud reminded him.  Not one for extended banter, the blonde sat up again and spread Reno’s legs.  Reno watched silently for once, his fair features flushed with eager passion as Cloud squeezed out some of the lube onto his left-hand fingers.  The Turk’s breath caught as Cloud dropped his hand between his widespread thighs and rubbed some of the lube over the puckered ring between his cheeks before easing a finger in. 

 

“Mmm, you’re getting good at working fast, Blondie,” Reno complimented breathlessly.  His ginger lashes lowered and he bit his lip, raising his hips to give his companion better access.  Cloud’s finger swiftly located the gland inside of his body and Reno arched his throat and moaned as the spot was stroked.

 

Ordinarily, Cloud preferred to take things slower but he knew Zack was aching to get started and he was getting impatient himself.  He shushed Reno and carefully slipped a second finger in to scissor inside with the first.  Evidently he was doing a good job, because Reno made one of those enthralling sounds in his throat that caused his partners to want to pound him into the mattress.  Clenching his teeth against his own carnal urges, Cloud steadily worked the redhead’s body until it wasn’t clenching so tightly around his fingers.  He added a third finger just to be sure and he pumped back and forth inside the snug warmth for a few minutes, enjoying the needy whimpers and gasps he provoked from his lover.

 

It was a real temptation to replace his fingers with his cock when he’d prepared Reno enough, but Cloud was disciplined enough to resist.  He withdrew his fingers and stroked the long muscles of the Turk’s thighs before backing off and helping him sit back up. 

 

Reno was breathing heavily and his eyes promised Cloud he’d get a ride too, once he recovered from Zack.  The redhead straddled the latter of the two and smirked down at him, enjoying the impatient expression of lust on his handsome face.  On inspiration, Reno brought his face closer to Zack’s and ran his tongue delicately over the discoloration surrounding his eye.

 

“Sorry about that, baby,” Reno murmured.

 

“You can toss me around in your chopper anytime, if this is how you make up for it,” Zack answered glibly, grinning at him.  The stiff bulge in his pants pressed against Reno’s lubed nether region and he flexed his ass and pushed it more firmly there, making the redhead wriggle on top of him with lust.

 

“Let’s get these pesky things off you,” Reno announced breathlessly.  “Why’d you put on two layers of clothes anyhow, Fair?”  He pulled the pajama pants down and followed up with the underwear, not bothering to slide them all the way off.  Zack’s erection jutted proudly from the triangle of dark hair between his thighs and Reno paused to admire it and the heavy balls resting underneath it.

 

“Just to be a pain in the ass,” Zack chuckled in response.

 

“You’re good at that,” Cloud said dryly.  He was staring.  He couldn’t help it.  Zack had an impressive set on him and every time he saw it, he was fascinated.

 

“Gaia to Cloud,” Zack murmured through his grin.  “You still there, featherhead?”

 

Cloud shook himself out of it and averted his eyes, clearing his throat.  “What are you waiting for, Reno?”

 

“Sorry man,” the Turk snickered.  “I was having fun watching you drool.”  He turned to Zack and leaned over to grab the forgotten tube of lubricant lying near Cloud.  “Time to get that big dick of yours greased up, wolfy.”  Reno squeezed a generous glob onto his palm and watched Zack’s face as he started slicking the lube over his erection.

 

Zack certainly wasn’t going to argue.  He closed his eyes and sighed with pleasure as the initial chill faded from the slippery gel as his and Reno’s body heat warmed it up.  The Turk’s gripping hand felt great on him, squeezing firmly as it moved up and down the length of his shaft.  Zack murmured an encouraging compliment and gently thrust in synch with the rhythm of Reno’s hand.  When the redhead stopped stroking him, he opened his eyes and looked at him with an expression that must have been clearly devastated, because Reno burst into laughter.

 

“Don’t give me that puppy dog look, Zack.”  Reno shook his head at him.  “I know you’ve got some skills when it comes to orgasms but I’m not taking the chance I’ll make ya blow your load before I get my ride, yo.” 

 

Zack’s eyes devoured the Turk’s lean body, then flicked to Cloud and did the same.  “You’re pushing it, Red.”

 

Reno clucked his tongue and got into a more convenient position while gripping Zack’s sex to position it.  “You really _are_ impatient, hot shot.  Can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say once I’m fucking your brains out.”

 

Zack groaned softly as Reno began to take him into his body.  The redhead did the same and his brows furrowed in concentration as he bore down to accept the other man’s girth. 

 

“Fuck, you’re big,” Reno panted unnecessarily.  He knew Zack was aware of his own size, just like Rude…but somehow he found himself blurting the compliment anyhow.  He didn’t know why he always felt the need to commentate but like Rude, Zack didn’t seem to mind it or let it go to his head.  There was a lot more to fucking than size and he knew it.

 

Despite his lust, Zack held still for Reno and let him take it at his own pace.  It was hard to control himself, especially when Cloud moved in and started kissing him passionately.  Zack succeeded in mastering his reactions—just barely.  He moaned into Cloud’s mouth as Reno’s body slowly sheathed his swollen sex and he silently hoped that he’d adjust soon before he lost his cool and started rutting beneath him.  Cloud broke the kiss and pulled away to study both of them with bright, sapphire eyes.

 

Reno took his restrained partner all the way in and sat on him for a few moments, catching his breath and reveling in the feel of his thickness.  Cloud’s hand wrapped around his erection and the Turk whimpered and quickly pulled it away, shaking his head at him.

 

“Don’t do that unless you plan on squeezing the base to stop me from coming, Blondie.”  Reno was dead serious, certain that if Cloud started jacking him off while he was quivering around Zack’s cock, he’d climax right away.  He wanted this to last…wanted to show Zack what happened when he played with fire.

 

Cloud smiled faintly at him and let him pull his hand away.  He stroked Reno’s straddled thighs instead and kissed him slowly.  He’d do what Reno suggested, once the Turk got started.  He knew what he wanted and a little demon in him decided he’d help him get it.  There was something wickedly hot about the thought of Zack Fair writhing and moaning helplessly beneath Reno.  Of course, it all depended on Zack’s cooperation, too.  Cloud might be able to hold him down for a little while but he didn’t fool himself into thinking he could do it for long.  Zack was bigger and physically stronger than he was and he’d already proved that in a contest of wrestling, he’d beat Cloud every time.

 

Reno began to move slowly, staring into Zack’s eyes as he did so.  He gasped each time he rocked and a low moan rattled in his throat when the other man’s cock pressed firmly against his prostate.  “Oh…fuck,” Reno grunted as Zack started moving his pelvis.  He moved faster and suddenly, Cloud maneuvered himself behind him and straddled Zack’s legs.  The blonde pressed against Reno’s back and put his arms around him, his mouth kissing the Turk’s shoulders and neck.  Reno gasped his name as Cloud’s hands settled on his hips and gripped them firmly.

 

Much as Rufus liked to do at times during threesomes, Cloud began to guide Reno’s motions and support his body.  The redhead whimpered with pleasure and turned his head to gasp a soft plea in Cloud’s ear. 

 

“You sure?” Cloud murmured huskily.

 

Reno nodded and Cloud moved his right hand around to the front of the Turk’s pelvis and curled his fingers around the base of his erection.  He squeezed just hard enough to prevent ejaculation and Reno grunted his thanks.

 

Zack watched them both and regulated his breathing as much as possible through the pleasure he felt.  He understood why Reno had asked Cloud to do that, but what he couldn’t know was that the redhead was about to demonstrate the skills that once made Rufus Shinra swear he had pelvic bruises for days. 

 

Reno braced himself and began to change his pace and force.  He saw Zack’s amethyst eyes widen a little and he smirked.  Placing his hands flat against Zack’s hard-muscled chest for support, the Turk steadily increased the intensity of his rocking and bouncing.  It hurt a little…he’d only ever ridden Rufus and Cloud this hard before and they weren’t hung like Zack and Rude were.  He paced himself, going a little slower than normal so that his body could adjust before he got too rough.  He used his posterior muscles as he rode him, intensifying his grip on his shaft.

 

“Unh…sh-shit,” Zack blurted.  His eyes glazed and his vision blurred.  Reno probably had the best muscle control and instincts he’d ever experienced from a uke.  He clenched as Zack’s cock slid out and relaxed when he took it back in, effectively milking the length.  His body squeezed hard enough to almost hurt, but at the same time it was so good it provoked a piteous moan from Zack’s lips.

 

“You ain’t felt _nothing_ yet, baby,” Reno panted, smiling at his captive.  He was adapted to Zack’s size and the increased force now.  He began to buck on top of the black-haired fighter, rough enough to put Cloud off-balance and make him lose his grip on him.  The blonde muttered in surprise but quickly recovered and matched Reno’s motions while Zack cursed raggedly and strained beneath him.  Reno pinched the dark-haired man’s nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, using just enough pressure to make him wince.

 

Zack growled and he nearly broke the handcuffs binding him to the bed.  The sensations Reno was giving him warred between pleasure and pain.  At this rate, it wasn’t improbable that the redhead would eventually make him “buckle”. 

 

_~Un-fucking-believable!  Does he do this to Cloud?  Kjata’s hooves don’t pound this damn hard!  No wonder he didn’t complain about what I did to him that first night in the cabin.~_

It was getting more intense by the moment and soon the bed was creaking alarmingly and banging into the wall.  Reno hollered with lust and leaned back against Cloud as his body tried to climax, but the blonde had a firm hold on his cock and it twitched in futility.  Zack almost considered telling Cloud to let go of Reno’s shaft so that he’d come.  The tight clenching around his sex was getting hard to bear and he suspected he was going to spill himself when he came.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

Rude turned up the volume on the television and tried very hard to maintain an air of indifference to the sounds that were floating through the wall from the next room over.  Not that he had a problem with Reno’s activities with others, but due to his guest for the night he was thoroughly wishing his room was another door down from Cloud and Zack’s. 

 

Reno’s cries were the loudest, of course.  “Gimme that big cock, Soldier Boy!”

 

Genesis reclined sleepily on the bed while Rude sat in the chair next to it.  After a while, the moans and grunts finally provoked a response from the redhead.

 

“It sounds like your partner has his hands full.” Genesis remarked casually, his eyes remaining on the nightly news broadcasted on the television.

 

“Yeah,” agreed Rude.  He cleared his throat and kept his eyes glued on the screen as well.

 

Zack’s exclamation carried through the wall next.  “Damn, Reno…did you get Mako infusions in those hips or what?!”

 

Cloud’s lust-roughened voice broke in and cautioned the two of them to be quiet.  “We’ve got people trying to sleep all around us, guys.”

 

Out the corner of his eye, Rude saw Genesis watching him closely.  The bald Turk unconsciously began to hunch in his seat, shrinking himself in the chair in an effort to vanish from sight.

 

“You aren’t jealous?” Genesis inquired lightly.

 

Rude shook his head.  “Reno’s a free spirit.  We don’t just stick with each other.”

 

Genesis considered the explanation thoughtfully and stroked his chin.  “Interesting.  For some reason, you impressed me as the protective sort of lover.”

 

Rude cleared his throat and nodded.  “You aren’t wrong.  There’s just…nothing to protect him from when it comes to those two.  Know what I mean?”

 

“So you trust Strife and Fair implicitly?” Genesis smiled a little.

 

“Can you give me a reason why I shouldn’t?” countered Rude.

 

“No.”  Genesis shook his head.  “I’m simply curious about this open arrangement you’ve got.  I’ve never had the pleasure, myself.”

 

Rude almost slid right out of his chair and he straightened himself back up in it hastily and loosened his tie.  “You’ve never…been with anyone?”

 

“I didn’t say that.”  Genesis chuckled.  “I said I’ve never been in an open relationship.  Actually, I’ve never been in any sort of long-term arrangement.  What is it like?” 

 

Rude looked at him, wondering if the redhead was toying with him.  Genesis wore an expression of earnest curiosity.  It wasn’t the sort of thing Rude ever expected to see on the fighter’s sculpted face…but then, he’d come to know more about him over the past few days than he’d ever known before.  Genesis wasn’t the enemy anymore.  His status as a potential ally made it easier to get to know him.

 

“I don’t have any complaints.”  Rude thought about it.  “There’s no obligation but at the same time, I can count on him to be there and he can count on me, too.  Maybe I’m not the person to ask about this sort of thing.  We don’t have a normal relationship.”

 

“It seems to work for both of you,” pointed out the redhead.  The noise from the next room was starting to die down and he smirked at Rude, amused by his tension.  “You seem rather conservative for such a relationship.”

 

“I’m just not loud about it,” Rude stated.  Deciding that they’d discussed all there was to discuss about his relationship with Reno, he came up with a question of his own.  “So why are you doing what you’re doing?  You said something about redemption to the ‘goddess’, but don’t you think you’d get that done faster if you would have just joined us from the start?”

 

“Ideally, yes,” agreed Genesis.  “But had I done that I’d have been directly betraying my brothers and sisters.  Truly though, it doesn’t matter what I choose.  If I side with them, I harm innocent people.  If I side with you, I betray Deepground.  I’m sinning either way.”

 

Rude frowned.  “So you’re screwed no matter what you do?”

 

Genesis sighed.  “Yes.  I’m screwed.”

 

It wasn’t fair.  Regardless of what he’d done in the past, he was doing the right thing now and Rude thought the guy deserved a break.  Or maybe he felt that way because like Genesis, the Turks were turning over a new leaf.  He remembered how desperately Strife had sought forgiveness and the kid wasn’t even guilty of doing anything wrong!  If it was that hard for a hero to get the redemption he wanted, was it even possible for people like them to do it, too?

 

“You look disturbed,” Genesis observed.

 

Rude shrugged.  “I just think a man should get some slack when he’s trying to do good.”

 

“Instant gratification?” pondered the fighter with a tilted head.  “I don’t think the world or the goddess herself works that way.  I think redemption comes when the good you do outweighs the evil.  Simply deciding to change isn’t enough; the effort is directly proportional to the sins committed…so I have a lot to atone for in order to earn forgiveness.”

 

“Hmph…seems like it’d almost be easier to just stick with what you know,” Rude grumbled.

 

Genesis smiled faintly and nodded.  “It seems that way.  Easy isn’t always best.  It took near death and rejection for me to understand that.  Can you?”

 

“Yeah, I get it.”  Rude heaved a sigh.  He really _did_ understand—he just didn’t like it.

 

The noise from the next room softened.  They could still hear the moans and gasps of pleasure coming through the wall but it sounded like Reno and the others had satisfied their initial wild streak or were running out of steam.  Rude felt some relief at that, if only because it embarrassed him for Genesis to be subjected to such vulgar sounds.  Despite his miser status, there was something about the former Soldier that made him seem refined and cultured.  Rude knew he didn’t have “virgin ears” but like Rufus, he didn’t seem like the crude sort, regardless of his sexual status.

 

Rude glanced over at his guest again and saw that his eyes were heavy-lidded.  He reached out and turned off the night lamp, leaving only the television casting light into the room.  Genesis nodded thankfully at him.

 

“Goodnight, friend.  You really don’t have to sleep in that chair or on the floor,” Genesis murmured tiredly.  “I think two grown men can share a bed without panicking or losing control of themselves.”

 

Rude wasn’t so sure about that.  While he was awake he could control himself, sure.  When he was asleep, however, he had a knack for sprawling over his bed partners or instinctively seeking their warmth in an embrace.  Genesis’s build was something between Reno and Rufus and the bald man suspected that his sleeping mind would make that connection and he’d end up glomping the man unintentionally.

 

“I’ll think about it,” Rude mumbled. 

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Reno collapsed against Zack, laying his head on the man’s shoulder and pressing his hands against his heaving chest while still straddling him.  Cloud stretched out beside the two of them, still aroused but not unsatisfied with the encounter and his part in it.  He held back a smile as he watched the expressions flit over Zack’s face, ranging from satisfaction to amazement to discomfort.

 

“Shit, you’re still hard,” Reno panted.  He’d felt the other man come inside of him but there hadn’t been a telling wetness with it.  He pulled back to examine Zack and he combed his dark bangs out of his eyes.

 

“Just barely managed it,” Zack admitted between gasps.  “Damn Reno…I think you gave me some more bruises.”

 

The Turk snickered and lowered his head to nibble at Zack’s lips.  “I warned ya, didn’t I?”

 

“Guess I underestimated you,” conceded the fighter dryly.  He shifted beneath Reno, making the redhead gasp.  “Sore?”

 

Reno nodded.  “Yeah…a ride like that usually does it to me but with a rod like yours, I think I might need to get an icepack or something.”

 

“Doesn’t surprise me, the way you went at it,” Zack chuckled.  “So are we done with these cuffs?  I’ve still got a chocobo to think about.”  He nodded at Cloud, who was smirking silently and looking particularly inviting in his state of arousal.

 

“Yeah, we’re done with the cuffs,” agreed Reno.  “Just let me—”

 

He started to climb off of Zack’s prone form but before he could so much as lift his aching flesh off of his erection, the black-haired man snapped the links of both cuffs as if they were mere twisty ties.  Reno stared with an open mouth at the two lone cuffs still fastened to the bedposts, then at their mates, which were still secured around Zack’s wrists like kinky bracelets.

 

“Yo, I was gonna get the key and let you out of ‘em!” protested the Turk.  Damn, he’d expected Zack to be able to break free of them but not _that_ fast!  He broke Cloud’s record.

 

“Oops,” Zack winced.  He smiled engagingly at the frustrated redhead and stroked his hips with both hands.  “Sorry, foxy.  I’ll buy you some more.”

 

Reno sighed, his anger bleeding out of him in response to the boyish apology.  “Nah, I’ve got a whole supply of them at home.  They don’t make me pay for ‘em…but they might start at the rate I’m going through them with you and Blondie.”

 

He climbed off of Zack, moaning faintly as the other man’s still-hard cock slid out of him.  Zack helped him and gave him a soft, gentle kiss as he lay on his side.  Cloud was already embracing the sable-haired fighter from behind and pressing against him suggestively, all shyness abandoned in the face of his un-sated desire.  Zack turned around and kissed the blonde, still breathing heavily from his earlier activities with Reno.

 

“If you’re too tired, I can just take care of myself,” Cloud murmured against his mouth.

 

Zack pulled away and gave the blonde a scandalized look.  “Too tired?  Me?  I may be a little beaten up but I’m _never_ too tired for some Cloud loving.”  He demonstrated his point by rolling the smaller fighter onto his back and grinning down at him while he pressed his arousal against his thigh.  Cloud’s soft, needy groan and heavy-lidded blue eyes told him that he’d get no objections from him.

 

They took a few moments to get him ready before Zack inquired what position he wanted.  Eager and thankful that he was so considerate of his needs, the blonde admitted he felt like spooning.  He turned on his side and pressed his back against Zack’s front, turning his head for a kiss while his dark-haired lover positioned himself.  Cloud’s breath escaped in a groan as Zack gently eased into him and he pushed his ass back for more, encouraging the penetration.  The cool metal of the broken cuffs still encircling Zack’s wrists pressed against Cloud’s stomach and ribs as he embraced him from behind, but he didn’t mind.  There was something sexy about it and he knew that if he’d had such thoughts a year or so ago, he’d be blushing from head to toe right now.

 

Zack wasn’t lying to Reno about his suspicions of bruising.  His pelvis ached a bit as he began to slowly pump against Cloud, but the sensation of the blonde’s tight body squeezing him made up for it.  He loosened his embrace and began to explore Cloud’s body with his hands, sliding his palms and fingers over the soft skin and tracing the muscle and bone structure.  He wondered how Cloud managed to keep his skin so silky.  Zack almost would have compared it to a woman’s skin, except the very male muscle definition beneath it made such a comparison seem foolish.  He nuzzled the blonde’s drying hair and gasped against his ear as he settled on a smooth, gentle rhythm.  Cloud’s hitching breath and soft moans made him smile.  Like Reno said in the beginning, a hard screw was all well and good but what really got Cloud going was a slow ride.

 

Zack felt another, leaner body press full-length against his back, while deft, long-fingered hands glided over his back and buttocks.  He turned his head and tilted it back, seeking Reno’s mouth with his own.  The Turk’s lips immediately covered his and the pink tongue sensually traced them.  Zack deepened the kiss and groaned softly, dropping one hand low on Cloud’s body to fondle his rigid cock.  The blonde sighed his name and rocked with pleasure, one hand covering the one that Zack was stroking him with.  Zack felt Reno’s hand slip between his thighs from behind and he wondered what he was up to…until said hand found his balls and began to knead them skillfully.

 

“Mmph…that’s going to…make me come too fast,” Zack warned breathlessly, breaking the kiss.  It felt so damn good and he knew he couldn’t take it for long in conjunction with the pleasure of Cloud’s warmth massaging his shaft.

 

“Don’t worry about it,” purred the Turk.  “Blondie’s already on his way.  Let’s make a game of it and see how long you can last, hot shot.”

 

“You little demon,” Zack panted. 

 

His one consolation was that indeed, Cloud’s breathing rhythm and increasingly louder moans suggested it wouldn’t be long before he found his release.  Zack clenched his teeth and kept his motions steady, deep and slow as he fought the urge to writhe against Reno’s caressing hand.  The Turk did something next that made a shiver pass through Zack’s spine and drove him to curse.  The only adjective Zack could think of for the way Reno’s fingertips rubbed and stroked his scrotum was “tickling.”  It wasn’t the same kind of tickle produced by a goose to the ribs or a glide over the belly.  It was stimulating in a way that was far more pleasurable than irritating.

 

“Hey Strife, I found a new weakness for our bird boy,” Reno announced with a wicked smirk.  “He likes it when his balls are tickled.”

 

“Wh-what?” Cloud gasped.  His ability to think coherently was severely crippled as the pressure built in his pelvic area.  He tried to comprehend what Reno had said but at that moment, Zack’s cock stroked just the right spot in passing and the blonde’s eyes rolled.  He twitched sporadically in Zack’s stroking hand and he moaned the names of both his companions as he came.

 

Zack cursed again as he held still within Cloud’s clenching body to let him ride his orgasm out.  It was so very hard to resist bucking, with Reno doing _that_ to him.  “Oh, damn,” he gasped as he started to shudder uncontrollably.

 

Reno caught the dark-haired fighter’s un-pierced earlobe between his teeth and tugged on it, purring with satisfaction at the husky groans and grunts that escaped Zack’s lips.  He kept fondling his balls until Zack wriggled his hips and shoved himself more firmly into Cloud’s body.  This time he knew the bigger man was spurting with his climax, because Reno could feel his balls clenching beneath his stroking fingers.  The shaken moan that escaped Zack’s open mouth was gratifying to the redhead’s ears.  He vowed to play with Wolfy this way more often, from now on.

 

When their respective climaxes ended, both Zack and Cloud collapsed together on the bed and panted heavily.  Reno pulled his hand out from between Zack’s thighs and reached around the larger fighter’s body to caress Cloud’s shoulder, while at the same time he kissed Zack’s neck and felt his pulse racing beneath his lips.

 

_~Eat your heart out, world.  Envy my harem of sexy hunks.~_

Reno relaxed behind Zack, keeping one arm carelessly draped over both him and Cloud.  He smiled as he closed his eyes.  Oh yeah, he had a complete collection now and he _knew_ people envied him his good fortune.

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued    


	28. Chapter 28

“Alliance”

Chapter 28

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Some time between midnight and the dark hours of the morning, Rude woke partially up and shifted his stiff muscles and joints, wondering when he’d fallen asleep in the chair and why Reno hadn’t woken him up and told him to come to bed.  He got out of the chair and realized vaguely that he was still wearing his clothes.  Grumbling in a partial stupor, he undressed to his boxers and stumbled to the bed.  All he could see of his companion in the light of the television was mussed hair.  Reno had burrowed under the covers in his sleep.

 

Had Rude been more awake and aware, he might have noticed that even in the flashing, blue-ish light of the TV the hair that was visible on the pillow was unusually tame and unusually natural in coloring.  He might have also noticed that the outline of the body beneath the covers wasn’t as slim as it should have been.  As it was, Rude was so muzzy headed with sleep that he neither recalled the recent events nor questioned odd little things about his bed partner that should have caught his attention.

 

With a yawn, Rude sat down on the bed and pulled his shades off, depositing them on top of the nightstand by his side of the bed.  He slipped underneath the covers and lay on his side, close to his companion’s warmth.  As he shut his eyes he absently put an arm loosely around the other man and somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered why Reno smelled faintly like white sage rather than the usual combo of cinnamon and cloves.  He fell into a deep sleep only moments later.

 

~******************************~

* * *

 

Genesis woke up a couple of hours after the sun rose.  He fought to remain asleep, grumbling softly and snuggling deeper into the comforter.  He didn’t want to get up—he’d been sleeping in caves and makeshift shelters for so long that he’d forgotten how good it felt to be in a bed.  His face pressed against something solid, warm and human and his eyes opened abruptly.  When his vision focused, he realized that he was staring at a bronze-skinned, muscular chest. 

 

Genesis blinked and frowned with confusion.  He raised his eyes from the defined pectorals that his face had just been pressed against and he recognized the handsome, chiseled features of the man that came attached to the chest.  Awareness returned and with it came a crooked little smile.

 

“So you changed your mind about the bed, after all,” he said in a faint whisper. 

 

Rude stirred but didn’t wake and Genesis considered the situation.  The big Turk was holding him in a loose, comfortable embrace.  Some time during the night, Genesis must have instinctively turned around and cuddled closer to him.  The redhead was a bit surprised and slightly amused to realize his own arm was returning Rude’s embrace, draped over the bald man’s waist.  He couldn’t decide whether it was disconcerting or interesting, how easily and naturally they’d both sought one another out in their sleep.  Genesis wasn’t by nature a “cuddly sleeper’ yet somehow, there he was snuggled close to this big, quiet man.

 

_~Now the question is, do I wake him or shall I try to disengage and let him wake on his own?  What an interesting problem.  As a Turk, he’s probably not a heavy sleeper.  What to do…what to do?~_

In light of Rude’s quiet, reserved nature, an uncommon twinge of kindness made Genesis decide to try and quietly exit the bed without waking the sleeping Turk—thus sparing him a moment of awkwardness that would probably make him grunt and clear his throat.  Though the thought of the bald man trying to conceal his discomfort made Genesis smile, he carefully eased the covers down and watched Rude’s face for signs of waking up.

 

The Turk’s breathing rhythm changed and Genesis stopped, holding perfectly still with the comforter pulled down to his waist.  Rude’s hand slid lower down the redhead’s back and stoked his leather-clad ass leisurely, making Genesis raise his eyebrows.  The bald man settled again and his breathing evened out, indicating that he was drifting back into deeper slumber.

 

_~As I suspected, this won’t be an easy accomplishment.  Not that I mind a pat on the ass from such a…nicely put-together specimen of masculinity.~_

Genesis’s eyes scanned Rude’s body again, admiring the hard, toned muscles.  He understood that in Rude’s sleeping mind, he wasn’t aware of what he was doing and he likely thought that Genesis was one of his lovers.  The swordsman didn’t really mind that, either.  The nature of Rude’s relationship with the other men allowed him to be fair game…of course, Genesis hadn’t courted anyone in so long he wasn’t sure how to go about taking advantage of that in the first place.

 

He could worry about that later.  The Inn had hot and cold running water and Genesis hadn’t had a warm shower in ages.  If he could disengage from the Turk without waking him, he could get himself cleaned up and possibly even borrow a bathrobe so that he could wash his clothes, too.  Cold mountain streams didn’t make a pleasant bath and the concoction he made from plant and wild berry extracts wasn’t the most efficient shampoo in the world.  He could _kill_ for some hair conditioner and he wondered if the Inn stocked complimentary little bottles of it in the bathrooms.

 

Genesis started to reach back and down, so that he could gently lift Rude’s hand off his rear and tuck his arm in front of him.  He glanced down and his eyes latched on the boxer shorts that concealed the Turk’s sexual attributes from view.  The redhead froze, his hand hovering over the light brown one that was resting comfortably on his butt cheek.

 

_~Who says I can’t get something out of this too?  He’s had his feel of me, after all.  A bit of an eye grope isn’t entirely inappropriate, is it?~_

The difference was that Rude was asleep and doing his groping unconsciously, while Genesis was wide-awake and aware of his own actions.  The redhead rolled his eyes with annoyance at his own mind for pointing these facts out.  He reminded himself that he had much worse to atone for than having a look in some other man’s boxers for a couple of seconds.  He reached down with whisper-quiet, smooth movements and carefully slipped his fingers into the elastic waistline of Rude’s boxers.  He waited for a moment to be sure he hadn’t disturbed the other man and then he looked down and tugged at the elastic, pulling it out so that he could get a peek at what kind of equipment the big man was packing.

 

Genesis grinned when he saw the size of Rude’s cock and his auburn brows shot up with admiration.  “Consider me impressed,” he murmured without thinking.  If Rude grew much more when hard, he could really do some damage to a sexual partner if he wasn’t careful.

 

He realized a second later that he’d spoken out loud and he tore his eyes away from the Turk’s crotch to examine his face, freezing with his hand still holding Rude’s boxers open at the waist.  Rude didn’t stir.  Genesis sighed faintly in relief and he was just about to ease the elastic back into place and let go of it when someone knocked loudly on the door.

 

Genesis abruptly let go of the elastic and he winced as it snapped against Rude’s skin.  He shut his eyes quickly and pretended to be asleep, schooling his features into the most relaxed expression he could manage.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

Rude was unceremoniously woken from his sleep by the sound of someone knocking on his door and a sharp, slapping sting below his navel.  He grumbled and opened his eyes, disoriented and uncertain whether the sting he’d felt was real or a phantom product of waking dreams.  He went still when his eyes focused on Genesis Rhapsodos’s unnervingly beautiful face, only inches away from his own.  The fighter appeared to be asleep and Rude watched him silently for a moment, embarrassed that he’d stumbled into bed with him sometime during the night.  At least the redhead’s fair skin had regained a flush of color…or was the flush on his high cheekbones a result of fever?

 

Rude impulsively reached out to touch Genesis on the forehead, checking his temperature.  He was warm but not alarmingly so.  The Turk guessed he was sleeping through the knocking because he was just exhausted from his injuries and the medication.  He pulled the covers down and got out of bed, retrieved his shades and stumbled to the door.  He grabbed his robe on the way and hastily dragged it on, tying it shut before answering the door.  A low-ranking young Turk stood there and he looked nervous.

 

“Sorry to wake you, Sir,” the other Turk apologized, “I was told to inform you that we have Weiss in custody, along with a lot of his followers that surrendered during the raid late last night.  We’re in the process of readying the prisoners for transport back to the holding facility in Junon and our orders are to start packing up for the trip back home.”

 

Rude was a little surprised that it was over.  He’d known Tseng planned to arrange a direct strike against Weiss’s hideout but he hadn’t expected it to be successful so soon.  He wondered what would happen with Genesis, now that Weiss was in custody. 

 

“Thanks,” Rude said to the other Turk.  He was hungry and he guessed that if Genesis was feeling better, he probably would be too.  “Have some breakfast brought up here for two, will you kid?”

 

The young man nodded compulsively and bowed.  “Right away, Sir.”

 

Rude grunted in acknowledgement and shut the door, locking it behind him.  He walked back into the room and found Genesis awake and in the process of sitting up in the bed.  The redhead looked up at him with guarded aqua eyes and Rude forced himself not to stare at his bare chest, suspecting that Genesis could somehow see through his concealing shades and tell when he was leering at him.

 

“They caught Weiss and a few of his followers,” announced Rude. 

 

“I heard,” replied Genesis.  “I would like to travel back with your people to Junon and go to this holding facility to speak with him.  Can that be arranged?”

 

Rude shrugged unknowingly.  “There shouldn’t be any problem with you coming back with us but as far as prisoner visitation, I don’t call the shots.  Since you helped bring Deepground down I think they’d let you visit him.  I can’t promise anything and if they do, it’ll probably have to be under supervision.”

 

Genesis nodded.  “Fair enough.”  He grimaced and placed a hand over his abdomen.

 

“I’ve ordered some breakfast for us,” Rude said, guessing that hunger pangs might be the source of the redhead’s discomfort.  “You can use the shower first if you want.  I could send your clothes to be washed, too.” 

 

Genesis tilted his head to one side slowly, studying him with narrowed eyes.  “Why are you doing all of this for me?”

 

Rude cleared his throat and tried to think of an appropriate explanation.  He could only think of one logical reason for the efforts he’d been making for the redhead’s sake that didn’t involve a desire to get him into bed.  “You had a hand in ending this.  You should get something out of it and you’d make a good ally.”

 

The suspicious expression on Genesis’s face made Rude want to squirm.  “So that’s the way of it, then.  Your kindness is inspired by what I did and your interest in coaxing me to go back under ShinRa employment?” 

 

Rude nodded.

 

Genesis sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed.  He stood up and stretched languidly, his pretty blue eyes concealed under lowered, thick lashes.  “I see,” he murmured after a moment.

 

Rude stared at a crack in the wall to avoid caressing the swordsman’s pale, lithe body with his eyes.  When Genesis looked at him again, there was something sly in his gaze and a crooked smirk adorned his lips. 

 

“Well then, I suppose you’ve given me something interesting to think about,” Genesis said in a droning voice.  “I’ll take your offer and have a shower.  I suppose there’s a bathrobe in there that I could use until my clothes are ready?”

 

“Yes.”  Rude’s mouth was dry and he resisted the urge to swallow for moisture.

 

“Excellent.  I appreciate it, friend.”  Genesis strode with animal grace to the bathroom door and left it cracked.

 

Rude stood frozen in place, his ears picking up the sound of clothing rustling as the other man undressed.  He saw a naked arm emerge from the bathroom door a couple of moments later and it tossed Genesis’s leather pants across the room.  They landed near the pile of his other clothes and his boots.  Genesis’s sword and scabbard leaned against the wall there too and Rude was a little surprised that he trusted him enough to leave his weapon unattended.

 

Rude forced himself into motion and crossed the room to gather the bundle of clothes.  His nostrils flared as he caught Genesis’s scent on them as he picked them up and he shook his head and huffed a determined sigh.  He hoped the people in charge of laundry wouldn’t fuck up any of the redhead’s clothes.  He guessed they knew how to wash and treat leather, since a lot of the WRO and ShinRa militia wore leather body armor.

 

_~Hope I don’t run into anybody on the way to drop these off…especially Red.  He’ll read my mind the minute he sees my fucking face and he’ll tease the hell out of me.  Gotta stop thinking about Genesis, man.  I don’t even know if the guy swings that way yet.  Could be flirtation or it could just be the way he is.~_

Rude’s tangled thoughts were far more active than his vocal cords, as usual.  Few people realized how much the bald man actually thought…which had worked in his favor on many occasions in the past.  He didn’t vocalize much and therefore, he didn’t give away his thoughts or feelings as easily as others.  Some probably even considered him slow and only Reno knew that his mind was a lot louder than his mouth.  At least, only Reno knew until Genesis came along.

 

As he carried Rhapsodos’s clothes out of the room and down the stairs, Rude wondered how the man had figured out so much about him in such a short time.  For that matter, he wondered how he’d come to understand Genesis so well in such a short time, too.  It didn’t seem like they’d only known one another as something other than enemies for a few days. 

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

“Tseng.”

 

“Sir?”  To his credit, the Wutaian’s voice was steady despite the dread he felt as soon as Rufus woke up and uttered his name in that tone.

 

“I want aspirin, hot tea, an ice pack for my head.  I also want a report on the conflict and an _extensive_ explanation for your betrayal and subsequent imprisoning of me.”  Rufus hadn’t moved from his position in the bed.  He was lying on his side but his gray, bloodshot eyes were as hard and cold as ice as they glared at the Turk seated in the chair beside the bed.

 

“Of course,” Tseng agreed readily as he stood up and went to retrieve the aspirin and start the hot water running.  The icepack he would have to get from elsewhere but he’d brought a supply of assorted teabags with him and the aspirin was sitting on the dresser.   

 

His pulse was racing with fear that few men could inflict on him and it wasn’t even a fear of physical harm or death.  His fear was of loss.  In retrospect, he knew that he shouldn’t have done what he did.  He knew that as the pilot, he’d had the power to withdraw from battle if he thought it was getting too risky.  The appearance of the enemy air fighters had convinced Tseng that it was too risky and he’d thought with his heart, rather than his head.  He only hoped that his actions hadn’t severed the bond that he’d formed with Rufus over the years.

 

He filled a complimentary mug with hot water, retrieved a dunker of black tea to place in  it, then brought Rufus the bottle of aspirin and poured him a glass of water from the pitcher sitting on the table.  He informed the president that he’d be right back with an ice pack for him and he made his escape, all the while silently bemoaning the outcome of yesterday’s choices. 

 

As he asked around for the item Rufus wanted, he started to consider things and he began to reason that Rufus might be coming down too hard on him.  Reno had crossed the line so many times over the years it was amazing he was still with the organization now.  Tseng had _never_ gone against direct orders before.  The closest thing he’d ever done to disloyalty to the organization was to try and save Zack Fair and Cloud Strife from the ShinRa militia.  Granted, what he did to Rufus was a very dire transgression but he intended to bring up Reno’s many fuck-ups if it appeared that his employment or life would be terminated.

 

~Would he really execute me, after all of these years of loyalty and…love?  I know that Reno holds a special place in his heart, but is my own status in that matter high enough for Rufus to see my side of the issue?~

He finally found a medical assistant who gave him an ice pack out of the supply truck.  Forcing down his concerns, Tseng filled it and hurried back to the room he shared with the president.  Rufus was sitting up in bed when he returned and the hard, angry expression was still very much present on his handsome face.  Tseng approached and gave him the icepack before removing the tea dunker from the coffee mug and throwing it away.

 

“Would you like sugar?” asked the Wutaian as he handed the mug to his lover.  “There are some packets on the table if you do.”

 

“You know I don’t take sugar with my tea,” Rufus muttered crossly.  He’d pulled the covers down and his tail lashed with agitation beside him on the bed.  He noticed Tseng’s eyes go to it and he smirked humorlessly at him.  “No, I can’t control that.  The more pissed off I get, the more active it becomes.  Now sit down and give me the report on the conflict.  After that, you can try to explain your actions and we’ll go from there.”

 

“Of course, Sir,” Tseng agreed obediently. 

 

He took his seat and explained everything that had happened while Rufus was out of commission.  Rufus listened with narrowed eyes, commenting or asking a question now and then.  He seemed mildly surprised by the news that Reeve’s actions were responsible for turning the tide for good in their favor, but he didn’t dwell overly on it. 

 

“We’ve captured Weiss and many of his followers,” Tseng finished.  “They’re being transported to the holding facility in Junon as we speak, and I’ve arranged for Weiss to get medical and psychological treatment, as we agreed with Genesis.  Our forces are in the process of loading up for withdrawal and the return home.  We’re bringing the Icicle refugees with us for treatment and to try and help them move on with their lives.”

 

Rufus nodded.  By the sounds of it, they weren’t doing anything he would have objected to.  He was still highly frustrated that he’d missed so much of the fighting but he did at least play his role before the final end.  Now there was the issue of integrating Genesis into the mix, should he be willing.

 

“Where is Genesis now?” Rufus asked.  He finished his tea and set it on the bedside table. 

 

“He’s with Rude, to the best of my knowledge,” answered Tseng.  “He was injured and Rude took care of him last night.”

 

“Of course,” Rufus said dryly.  The two of them, surprisingly enough, seemed to fit together.  He certainly wouldn’t begrudge Rude the opportunity to have his own exclusive lover on the side.  “I suppose he’ll want visitation rights with Weiss if he chooses to join us?”

 

“I haven’t spoken to Rude yet this morning but I think that’s a fair assumption.”  Tseng gazed at him steadily; patiently waiting for the judgment he knew was coming.

 

“Well then, I suppose the only remaining thing for us to cover is your rampant betrayal.”  Rufus narrowed his eyes at him.  “What would you say is sufficient punishment for your insubordination, Tseng?”

 

“That isn’t a thing for me to decide,” answered the Wutaian readily.  “I want you to know, however, that I did what I did because I truly thought it was too dangerous to risk you, Sir.  You’re too important to this organization…and to me.”  The last was said softly and Tseng’s eyes lowered.  He’d never told Rufus out loud how much he really loved him.

 

The president considered him silently for a moment.  When he spoke again, his voice was still frigid.  “You’re in an important position of leadership yourself, Tseng.  You rarely personally engage in conflict and yet you were out there fighting with your peers.  I smell hypocrisy.”

 

Tseng nodded.  “It’s a fair observation.  I don’t hold myself to the importance that I hold you, though.  If you wish to shoot me for it, so be it.  I can fetch your weapons from storage, if you truly wish it.”  He was testing him.  If Rufus said “yes”, he would bring up Reno at least once before complying and accepting his fate.

 

Rufus seemed to consider it.  His steely eyes remained level on him and he rubbed his temples absently, wincing at the throb in his head.  “Years ago, I would have said ‘yes’,” Rufus murmured.  Tseng met his eyes and he smiled bitterly at him.  “I wouldn’t have hesitated to end your service to me and your life on Gaia without ceremony.  However, you’ve been my trusted confidant, guardian and lover for too long now.  It would be wasteful and I admit, I would miss you.”

 

Tseng relaxed and Rufus quickly held one hand up.  “However,” the president continued, “I can’t let this go unpunished.  I never thought you would be the one on the receiving end but there are consequences.”

 

“I’ll submit to whatever penalties you deem fit, Sir,” Tseng murmured humbly.

 

“I’m sure you will,” Rufus said with a cool smirk.  “No doubt you’ve heard some details from Reno in the past concerning his various punishments.  For you, though, I think a special example should be made.  True, this is your first offense, but I want it to be your last.”

 

Rufus sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.  “Now isn’t the time to conduct this, however.  When we return to Junon, you will pack a suitcase and report to my office.  That’s where you’ll stay until I’m satisfied that you’ve learned your lesson.”

 

“My duties?” Tseng questioned.  He wasn’t arguing, merely inquiring as to how his job would be handled during his…punishment. 

 

“As far as the company will be concerned, you’ll be away on vacation during your stay in my office.  Reno can fill in for you and I’ll permit you to keep your cellphone to conduct business with him and ensure that he’s fulfilling your duties properly.”  Rufus’s eyes traveled the Wutaian’s suit-clad body with sexual candor.  “I’ll have to purchase a chain long enough to allow you to move freely within my office without exiting, of course.”

 

Tseng blinked.  “Sir, I wouldn’t try to leave,” he argued.

 

Rufus’s cold smile came back.  “No, but discipline must be maintained.  I can think of no better way to remind you of your place in our power scheme than to have you properly collared and leashed like the disobedient dog you are.”  He tilted his head and studied the silent Turk.  “Actually, if I were to make animal comparisons I’d say you’re more akin to a snake.  I can’t very well leash a snake though, can I?”

 

“You may do whatever you wish,” Tseng murmured.  He’d expected something humiliating and painful at best and he was prepared to deal with it.

 

“I certainly can,” agreed Rufus.  “Now tell me, where did you find me when you returned?  I vaguely remember trying to return to the battle but I’m afraid my memory beyond dinner is somewhat compromised.  I’m not certain I can trust my recollections.”

 

“We found you in a tree outside the Inn,” answered Tseng readily.  A barely perceptible smirk curved his lips.

 

Rufus wasn’t so surprised to find out he’d been discovered in a tree.  His fuzzy memories included leaping off of the roof in the direction of a large evergreen.  What did trouble him was the use of the word “we”.  He frowned fiercely at the Wutaian.  “Define ‘we’, Tseng.”

 

“The circle,” responded the Turk leader.  “Only your lovers know where you truly ended up.  Oh, and Zackary.  He was the one that spotted you after we tracked you to the rooftop.  He’s also responsible for getting you safely down.  You were caught up by your coat and passed out.”

 

Rufus shut his eyes and cursed softly.  “Fabulous.  So _nobody_ else knows about this?”

 

Tseng shook his head.  “No, Sir.  When you were discovered missing, the search parties failed to check the attic so we fabricated that we found you in there.”

 

Rufus sighed and picked up the icepack to place it on his head.  “Dear gods, I’m never drinking again…I swear it.”

 

Tseng kept his urge to smile under control.  “This is the first time I’ve ever known you to allow the drink to get the better of you, Koibito.  I don’t think there’s a need for you to swear it off, considering you were under duress when you over-indulged.”

 

“You’re too kind,” Rufus muttered.  He rested his back against the headboard of the bed and kept his eyes shut.

 

“Rufus,” Tseng said hesitantly.

 

“What is it?” the blonde grumbled.

 

“May I see to your aches?  I have some lavender oil in my suitcase.  I may be able to—”

 

“Yes,” interrupted the president.  “That would be nice, since you’re partially to blame for this headache.”

 

“Of course, Sir.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Reno, wake up.”  The soft, masculine voice was laced with annoyance.  “We’ve got to get packed up and ready to leave.”

 

“Five more minutes,” mumbled the redhead into his pillow.  He felt a nudge against his shoulder and he swatted in the general direction of it and snuggled deeper into the bedding.

 

“I’ll bet I can get him up,” A deeper, light-hearted voice said.

 

“We don’t have time for that,” the other voice said in a warning tone.

 

Reno snickered, his mind immediately going to dirty thoughts even though it was half-asleep.

 

“Boy, you two are both in smut-mode this morning,” the deeper voice chided in an amused tone.  “Here, hand me that pitcher you brought up.”

 

“What for?”

 

There was whispering and Reno frowned, his waking mind becoming suspicious.  The owner of the deeper voice was quickly gaining a reputation as a prankster and the word “pitcher” made Reno suspect that he might find his hand put in a bowl of warm water, soon.

 

“Don’t even think of it, yo,” he mumbled.  He rolled the covers up around his body, forming a protective cocoon.

 

“Really?” the softer voice asked in response to something the deeper voice whispered.  “I don’t know, man.”

 

“You’ll see.”  The deeper voice was confident.

 

Reno stayed where he was and sighed as he started drifting deeper into sleep.  His companions would be in for a nasty surprise if they thought they could pull a prank on him.  His instincts were honed so that if he sensed danger, he could respond immediately even if he was dead-tired.

 

He felt a hard-muscled, warm body settle on the bed behind his and he smiled, appreciating the way it fit against his back.  Strong hands burrowed into the covers wrapped around him and eased them away.  He tensed, but when the other man embraced him and pressed against him from behind without trying anything funny, he cuddled against him.  Silky lips caressed his temple and trailed down to his jaw and neck. 

 

Reno arched into the kisses and purred when he felt the larger man’s growing arousal pressing against his naked rear through a layer of clothing.  The hand that was caressing his chest beneath the covers slid down and behind, gliding sensually down his back.  It left for a moment and Reno frowned, but then the tip of the index finger returned and traced his spine down to his tailbone.

 

Without warning, something hard, slippery and very, very cold nudged into his sore sphincter.  Reno yelped and jerked away, his eyes flying open wide as he came fully awake with brutal abruptness.

 

“What the _FUCK?_ ”  He shouted as he sprang out of the bed and to his feet.  He could feel that hard… _something_ …inside of him and he wriggled in place like a belly dancer and ineffectively patted his naked ass.  It was too late…whatever it was had already been inserted and while it was oddly soothing against the soreness, it was too cold.

 

Zackary Fair grinned up at him from the bed, lying lengthwise on his side with one elbow propping him up.  He was dressed in his boxer briefs and his hair was damp as if he’d just taken a shower.  Cloud Strife stood behind him, shirtless and wearing a pair of deep green cargo pants.  He held a pitcher in his left hand and he was staring from Zack to Reno with wide, blue eyes.

 

“What did ya _do_ to me, Fair?” Reno demanded, wriggling uncomfortably where he stood.

 

“I got you out of bed,” Zack said simply, flashing a white-toothed smile at him.  “Ice cubes do wonders, don’t they?”

 

Reno stared at him with growing fury.  “You put…an… _icecube_ …up my _ASS?_ ”

 

Zack turned his head to regard Cloud with a wry smirk.  “Catches on quick, doesn’t he?”

 

Reno gave Cloud an equally thunderous look as he tried not to squirm.  “You’re his fucking cohort, Strife!  Don’t look so damned ignorant…you’re the one holding the pitcher!”

 

Cloud looked at the pitcher in his hand and shrugged.  “I didn’t expect him to do _that_ with it.  He asked for an icecube and I thought he was just going to run it down your spine or rub it over your nipples.”

 

Reno cursed and headed for the bathroom to try and get the thing out of him.  He could feel the cold drops from the melting cube trailing out of his body and down his thighs.  “Your asses are mine, ya fucking pranksters,” he warned as he dodged around Cloud and ran into the bathroom.

 

“It’s going to melt before you can get it out,” Cloud reasoned over his shoulder at him.

 

Reno flipped him off and slammed the bathroom door shut, making both of his lovers wince.  Cloud turned to Zack and sighed.  “Okay, that was just mean.”  He hadn’t even had the chance to explain why they were shipping out so soon and the redhead was too flustered and angry to wonder about it right now.

 

Zack was laughing silently and he shook his head.  “I’ll bet it feels good and he just doesn’t want to admit it,” he quavered.  “Lighten up, cutie-pie.  My pelvis took a beating from him last night so he kind of had it coming.”

 

“You took a beating because you earned it,” Cloud reminded, crossing his arms over his naked chest.  “I _warned_ you about teasing him.”

 

“After I’d already done it,” Zack shrugged.  He was still grinning.  “Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to him.”

 

The look Cloud gave him said he wasn’t sure he’d survive long enough to do it.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Rude and Genesis ate breakfast together after the fighter showered and the food arrived.  The Turk who had fetched it made sure that there was a variety and Genesis demonstrated his courtesy by offering his share of the bacon to Rude when he noticed how quickly the bald man ate his.  Rude in turn offered his small bowl of oatmeal to Genesis. 

 

  Rude thought it was a little strange that his companion was so silent while eating, given his penchant for quoting poetry or talking about favorite plays, songs or art pieces.  He chalked it up to good breeding and knowledge of when it was appropriate to initiate conversation with an eating partner and when it wasn’t.  From what he knew of the swordsman, he’d come from a well-off family and thus like Rufus, he was well schooled on table manners.  Despite his obvious hunger, the redhead ate with quiet dignity and he didn’t slop once. 

 

“Did you get enough?” Rude asked after they both finished their meal.

 

“More than,” Genesis responded with a quiet smile.  “I overdid it, I think.  My stomach has shrank a bit.”

 

Rude nodded in understanding.  It made sense, given that Genesis had been living on wild game and scraps.  The Turk politely excused himself to have his shower and Genesis responded with equal courtesy.  As formal as they were both being, their eyes met before Rude got up and their gazes remained locked for several moments before breaking away.

 

Rude generally wasn’t one to turn to masturbation…not that he had a problem with it, but he was usually kept so satisfied by Reno and the others that he just didn’t need to jerk off to relieve his tension.  As he showered, he came to realize that all the sex in the world didn’t cure unrequited desire.  His erection was still present when he was halfway through the warm shower and he sighed and decided to take care of the problem himself.

 

The thought that Genesis might have done the exact same thing when he’d showered in the same spot an hour ago only made things worse for Rude.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 

 

 

 


	29. Chapter 29

“Alliance”

Chapter 29

~**********************************~

* * *

 

The allied forces worked swiftly.  The equipment and vehicles were loaded onto the carrier ships first and then the refugees that chose to go with them for medical treatment boarded.  Within three hours, they cleared Icicle and left.  Many of the people who had participated in the strike to capture Weiss went straight to the cabins to sleep.  Rufus also went to his private cabin, taking Tseng with him.  Reno and the others guessed that the president was avoiding them because his pride was still wounded, and they each wondered what was being done to poor Tseng.

 

“I dunno, the boss might be lenient on him,” Reno said to Rude, Zack and Cloud.  “Hell, this is the first time Tseng ever pulled anything like this.  I’ve done a lot more in my time as a Turk than he has.”

 

They were standing on the upper deck, watching the cold coastline fall away as their ship began the journey home.  Tifa and Barret were downstairs playing cards, Cid and Yuffie were both sleeping and Vincent and Reeve were at the other end of the deck, discussing whatever it was the two of them liked to talk about.

 

“He’ll be fine,” Rude said with a shrug.

 

“Man, I hope so,” Zack grimaced.  “I saw that cold look on the president’s face when they boarded.  I wouldn’t want to be Tseng right now.  I like the guy and I’d hate to see him get maimed.”

 

Cloud crossed his arms over the rail and shook his head as he watched the ocean absently.  “He won’t get maimed.  Maybe whipped, but not maimed.”  He flushed as soon as the words left his mouth and the others looked at him with interest.

 

“Saw Rufus’s goody drawer, did ya?” Reno guessed with a teasing smirk.

 

“Look, there’s a school of dolphins,” Cloud said with a pointing gesture.

 

Zack chuckled and ruffled the blonde’s hair.  “Nice diversion, kiddo.”

 

“There is, though,” Cloud insisted, pointing again.

 

Zack looked out over the water and saw the frolicking group of sea mammals following the ship.  “Huh, so there are.  They’re kind of cute, aren’t they?”

 

“Yeah, adorable,” Reno said.  He wasn’t looking at the dolphins.  He was looking at his partner with curious, blue-green eyes.  “So Rude, where’s your phoenix at?  I saw you leave your room with him when we left the Inn.  Fill me in, man.”

 

“Nothing happened,” Rude said in a low voice.  “I think he’s up here on the deck somewhere.  He said the ocean inspires him.”

 

“Shit, you’re telling me you had that guy in your room all night long and _nothing_ happened?”  Reno looked doubtful.

 

“Unless you think sleep is juicy, yeah.” 

 

“Hmm, that’s kind of disappointing.” Reno sighed.  “Well, I feel like taking a walk.  How about you guys?”

 

“I’m game,” Zack agreed.

 

“I’m going to stay here and watch the dolphins,” Cloud said.  A passing WRO operative saluted him respectfully and Cloud gave her a nod.  He frowned once she was out of earshot.  “Okay, that keeps happening and people keep calling me ‘General’.  Do you guys know what’s going on?”  His tone said that he thought he was the butt of some huge, elaborate prank.

 

Reno and Zack exchanged a look.

 

“Ain’t it obvious, Blondie?” Reno queried.  “They’ve made you their honorary general.  Ya did good out there, yo.”

 

Cloud frowned at him.  “Be serious.”

 

“He is,” Zack inserted, his expression sobering.  His blue-violet eyes were warm on the blonde as he spoke.  “You held the lines and kept people’s morale up, Cloud.  You charged in alone a few times and came out without a scratch.  They look up to you.”

 

Reno and Rude nodded at one another and started walking away, to let Zack finish speaking with Cloud in private.  Some things were sacred and they both sensed that this was a conversation reserved between old, dear friends who just happened to become lovers.

 

Zack watched them go and he leaned in and put a hand on Cloud’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly.  The blonde looked a bit stunned, his youthful features humble and amazed. 

 

“You always admired Sephiroth,” Zack murmured, “at least, before he went bonkers.  You told me you wanted to be just like him, remember?”

 

Cloud nodded silently and looked at him with soft blue eyes.

 

“Well guess what?” Zack continued.  “You’re there.  The difference is, you’re not hardened like Sephiroth was.  You inspire people, Cloud.  They follow you because they love you.  So do I.”  Zack cupped the blonde’s chin and gazed into his eyes for a moment before giving him a brief, tender kiss on the mouth.  He smiled at him when he pulled away and he gave his shoulder one more squeeze before following after Reno and Rude to leave Cloud alone with his thoughts.

 

Cloud watched them go and his stunned expression slowly melted away to be replaced by a tentative little smile.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“Cloud can be pretty clueless sometimes, yo,” remarked Reno as the three of them walked along the deck together.  “It’s kind of cute.”

 

“He’s just humble,” Zack said with a smile.  “He doesn’t put on airs.  That’s why people like him so much, even if he sucks at communicating off the field.  You should have seen him shouting orders, man.  It gave me tingles.”

 

“Saw some of it from the chopper,” Reno said with a nod.  “The lines would waver and then Blondie would ride up on his bike.  Next thing you know, they’d be pressing forward again.  I couldn’t hear what he was saying but it worked like a charm.”  The redhead sighed and grinned.  “Is it weird that I’m proud of him?”

 

Rude shook his head and so did Zack.

 

“Totally natural,” Zack said.  “Shit, I’m so proud I’m surprised I’m not glowing.”

 

Rude suddenly stopped and both of the other men looked at him curiously.  He was staring at something up ahead to the right, near the railing.  Zack and Reno followed his gaze and they spotted Genesis.  The leather-clad fighter stood alone, watching the ocean.  People gave him a wide birth as they passed, curious yet wary of him.  Reno could hear the swordsman’s faint voice, murmuring to nobody.  The redheaded Turk quirked a brow and wondered if the guy was schitzo.  He looked at his partner and rolled his eyes.  To anyone else, Rude’s face might have appeared impassive but Reno knew him so well he could detect the smitten expression.

 

“Go talk to him, man.” Reno encouraged, giving Rude a little push.

 

“Yeah,” Zack agreed.  “That way he won’t just be mumbling to himself.  He’s scaring people.”

 

“He’s making up poetry,” the bald man muttered, resisting Reno’s pushes stubbornly.  “I don’t wanna bother him.”

 

“You ain’t going to bother him,” insisted Reno.  “The guy likes you and hell, could you _want_ him more?  You used to look at me that way, back before we started fucking.  That’s some major sexual frustration I’m reading on ya, partner.”

 

Rude’s eyes widened behind his shades and he frowned severely at the redhead, jerking his chin meaningfully at Zack as he cleared his throat.

 

“Don’t mind me,” Zack said cheerfully. 

 

The bald man heaved a sigh.  Reno and Zack were both going to keep needling him until he either spoke to Genesis or lost his cool and socked one of them.  “I’m going,” he grumbled, “stop pushing me, Red.”

 

Zack and Reno watched with matching grins as Rude walked across the deck to Genesis.  He did it like he was marching to his own execution and the two of them rolled their eyes at each other.

 

“Was he this clueless when you two started off?” Zack mumbled out the corner of his mouth.

 

“Yeah, I had to prod him a little,” sighed the redhead.  “The big guy’s kind of like Cloud when it comes to intimacy.  He’s not real good at making the first moves but once ya get him started, he’s a machine, yo.”

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Genesis sensed Rude’s approach and he quieted and turned to face him.  The Turk looked uncomfortable and Genesis could guess why; his partner and Zack Fair stood a few feet away, watching.  Genesis was reminded of a group of teenagers daring one of their friends to poke a sleeping bear with a stick.

 

“I don’t bite, you know,” Genesis remarked with a smirk.  “Well, at least I won’t bite _you_.”  He nearly added: _“Unless you want me to”_ but unlike another redhead, Genesis paced his wit and flirtations.

 

“You looked like you wanted to be alone, is all,” Rude grunted.  He came up beside the swordsman and looked out at the blue water.

 

Genesis examined the Turk’s chiseled profile for a moment before answering.  “I’m alone often enough,” he murmured.  “I don’t mind congenial company.”  The last was said with faint hesitation.  He was awkward with his courtship skills and while he was almost certain that Rude was attracted to him, he’d come to know enough about his personality to realize he’d either have to find buttons to push for encouragement or make the first move himself. 

 

_~Wonderful.  Me out of practice and bumbling while he isn’t flirtatious by nature.  Well, I do enjoy a challenge.~_

The audience certainly wasn’t helping.  Genesis understood that while Rude wasn’t a particularly bashful individual, he wasn’t an extrovert and he valued his privacy.  His scheming partner and Zack Fair were making the encounter more awkward than it had to be and Genesis narrowed his eyes at Zack meaningfully.  The sable-haired fighter gave a little start as if suddenly realizing how rude he was being.  He nudged his lithe partner-in-crime and murmured something to him.  Reno seemed a bit reluctant, but he followed Zack in the opposite direction and soon, Genesis and Rude were relatively alone.

 

The privacy improved Rude’s social skills.  He glanced sidelong at his companion and muttered: “You write your own poems?”

 

“Well, _memorize_ them would be more apt a description,” Genesis explained lightly.  “I haven’t owned a pen or touched a computer in years.  Sadly, I think I’m more adept at recital than creation.”

 

 Rude considered that.  After a moment, he shrugged.  “Everybody’s got to start somewhere.”

 

Genesis looked at him and his sculpted features relaxed into a subtle smile.  “You’re right.  It takes some…finesse.”

 

Rude met his eyes through the shades he was wearing and he felt that rush that he’d only felt for Reno before.  “Until you get it on track, you could always work for our organization.  The pay’s good.  You could probably get a place of your own within a week and the company would set you up with a suite in Headquarters until then.” 

 

_~Shit, I’m babbling almost as much as Red, here.  Practically fucking begging him, in fact.  It was easier with Reno ‘cause I knew he was already part of the organization.  This bird could fly at any moment and there wouldn’t be a damn thing I could do about it.~_

Rude’s private thoughts were—of course—not reflected on his expression.  His trained facial features remained neutral and if his voice denoted a touch of encouragement, he didn’t think it was such a bad thing.  Genesis was alone in the world and the calculating Turk in him knew that could play an advantage in recruitment.  The man in him was driving his actions on a more personal level.

 

Genesis’s considering look didn’t make Rude any more comfortable.  The redhead held his gaze for a few moments before his lips parted and he spoke.  “What precisely do you think I could do for your organization, now that you’ve defeated Deepground?”

 

Rude chose his words carefully, understanding that Genesis would be insulted if he suggested joining the Turks.  While the swordsman seemed to have enough respect for _him_ , Rude knew what his faction’s reputation was and he’d helped get them there personally.

 

“You could be an instructor,” Rude said.  “For the ShinRa militia.  They could use someone with experience like you.”  It was his turn to smirk slightly.  “Can’t tell me you didn’t see how some of those guys handled themselves in combat.”

 

Genesis grimaced.  Yes, he’d seen how the ShinRa troops fought and honestly if it weren’t for Strife’s guidance, he imagined Weiss’s ground troops would have faired much better than they did.  The ShinRa military clearly wasn’t what it used to be.  Truth be told, the WRO forces, Turks and volunteers had been more influential on the outcome of the conflict.

 

“That’s an interesting proposition,” Genesis mused.  “If you think it could be arranged, I suppose I’d be willing to try it out.”

 

“I’ll speak to the president about it.”  Rude was confident that the boss would agree to the idea.  He knew Rufus wasn’t happy about the way his militia’s performance had been declining steadily over the past year and the Turk suspected that part of the reason he’d wanted to join the fight was to give his troops added incentive to do their best.

 

Silence returned, but this time it wasn’t uncomfortable.  Rude stood next to Genesis and the two mutually enjoyed one another’s company as the crisp ocean air ruffled their clothes and hair.  After a few moments, Genesis noticed the way the big man adjusted his blazer for warmth and he imagined Rude’s head must have been getting cold, with no hair to insulate it from the chill in the air.

 

“Do you play mahjong?” The fighter queried softly.

 

Rude shrugged.  “Sometimes.”

 

“I noticed there’s a table for it below deck,” Genesis said.  “Most of your people are sleeping, so it should be open.”

 

“Let’s play, then.”  Rude wasn’t a huge fan of the game but it offered an escape from the chill air and more time with Genesis.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

“They’re going downstairs.”

 

Zack stood behind Reno and shook his head with amusement.  The Turk had only allowed himself to be led around the corner of the top deck before stopping and peering around the wall of the Captain’s cabin to see what his partner and Genesis were doing.

 

“Okay, mission accomplished,” Zack said.  “We got them to talk to each other and they’re hitting it off just peachy.  Come on, meddler.  Let’s go find Cloud.”

 

“Wait,” Reno said with a shooing motion at the fighter as he tried to grab his arm.  “I wanna follow ‘em and see if they go into a private cabin or something.”

 

“Why?” Zack’s eyebrows furrowed suspiciously.  “Thought you didn’t mind Rude hooking up with the guy.”

 

“I don’t,” Reno shrugged.  “I just wanna see how it goes, is all.  Ya might think it’s weird but I like my guys to get what they want, yo.”

 

Zack hid a smile behind one hand.  “Cloud told me about this.  Damn, you really _are_ nosey.  I thought he was just exaggerating.”

 

Reno snorted.  “Blondie doesn’t exaggerate about anything, man.  You know better than that.”  He didn’t seem to mind being called “nosey”.  He started off to follow his quarry and Zack sighed and caught him around the waist, holding him back.

 

“Let go, Wolfy!” 

 

Reno tried to twist out of the fighter’s grip but Zack was getting accustomed to his agility and he quickly compensated by shifting his hold on him.  “Don’t you think with someone like Rude, it’s better to let him move at his own pace?” muttered the fighter in a low voice as he pinned Reno against the wall.

 

“His own pace is too slow,” the redhead snapped.  “Come on, just lemme see what they’re up to and I’ll quit.”

 

Zack shook his head and when Reno struggled again and nearly slipped free, inspiration struck him.

 

_~I know ONE way to keep him distracted.~_

Reno was contemplating playing dirty and kneeing his larger companion in the groin, but that hard body was suddenly pressed flush against his and Zack’s grinning mouth descended and muffled his curses with a demanding kiss.  Predictably, the action made lust shoot through Reno from head to toe and his swearing immediately turned into a low moan as Zack’s tongue pushed past his lips and caressed inside of his mouth.  The only emotion stronger than the rush of desire Reno felt was surprise.  They were out in the open where anyone could walk by and see them lip-locked, at any moment.  Even Reno had more restraint when it came to public displays…he had to in order to protect his organization’s reputation.  Zack, however, didn’t seem to care if someone saw him sucking face with the second-in-command of the Turks.

 

“Msft,” Reno muttered, his words hopelessly distorted by the kiss, “Me camph oo ish fere!”

 

Zack broke away and smirked at him.  “What was that?”

 

“I said,” Reno answered after catching a breath, “We can’t do this here.”

 

Zack reached out and caught Reno’s ponytail, letting the soft, vivid strands slide through his fingers.  “Why not?  I thought you were shameless, Red.”

 

“I am,” the Turk countered, “But I’m not stupid, yo.  There’s a few rules I’ve still gotta follow and keeping the fucking around out of public view is one of ‘em.  Turks are professionals, man.”

 

“Ah, gotcha,” Zack said with a wink.  “But spying on your coworkers is fine, eh?”

 

“It is if I’m doing it to help them,” Reno persisted stubbornly.  He was distracted again when Zack pressed close once more.  His eyes fluttered shut and he groaned when the taller man’s pelvis brushed against his and he felt Zack’s arousal push against his through their clothes.  “Ya know, ‘Fair’ isn’t really a good surname for you,” the redhead muttered with frustration.  “You don’t play fair at all.”

 

Zack chuckled and leaned in for one more brief, sensual kiss before pulling away from him.  “Come on…let your partner do things his own way and come with me to find Cloud.  I’m afraid he’ll think himself into a coma over this ‘General’ mess and we might need to distract him from it.”

 

Reno gave a low whistle.  “I didn’t think of that.  Blondie has a habit of dwelling too much and you’re right…the silly dingbat’s probably still standing there with those big, blue eyes of his all blank and stupefied.  Let’s go.”

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

As they suspected, they found Cloud exactly where they’d left him and he was still staring blankly out at the ocean. 

 

“You’d think he just found out he got some girl pregnant,” remarked Reno casually to Zack as they came up on either side of the contemplating blonde.

 

Cloud glanced at him sidelong and grumbled something under his breath.  Reno laughed and looked around for witnesses before giving him a little pinch on the bottom. 

 

“Come on, Blondie,” Reno purred seductively into his lover’s ear.  “Go down below deck with us so we can find someplace private.”

 

“Good luck with that,” Cloud said, though his sapphire gaze was intrigued on the redhead.

 

“There’s always some little niche somewhere,” Zack alluded.  “It’s just a matter of finding it.”

 

“Hell, if we get too desperate we could probably go to Rufus’s private quarters,” smirked Reno.  “I don’t think he’d mind and we might get a little extra action out of it.”

 

Zack suddenly shifted uncomfortably and looked around.  “Know what?  I think I’m going to go get something to eat.  You two have fun, okay?”  He walked away before either of them could respond.

 

“What’d I say?” Reno muttered as he watched Zack go.

 

Cloud narrowed his eyes at his dark-haired lover’s retreating form and he began to wonder if Zack’s affair with director Lazard had been entirely consensual on his part.  He’d heard the country drawl creep into Zack’s voice before he left and he knew that Rufus made him nervous because he resembled Lazard so strongly.  He didn’t seem to dislike the president and he’d said he thought he was good-looking, but Cloud was getting the feeling that the thought of a sexual encounter with him made Zack’s hackles rise.

 

“I think Zack just wants to keep to you and I for now,” Cloud said tactfully.  It wasn’t a lie but he couldn’t tell Reno of his suspicions—not only because he hadn’t confirmed them yet but because if he was right, it was up to Zack who to tell and how much.

 

“Well damn, he could have just said so,” Reno grumbled.  “I wasn’t really serious, anyhow.  The boss-man’s not a good mood right now and as much as I’d love to play with that new tail of his, I’m not about to push my luck.”

 

Cloud smiled softly at him.  “It’s okay.  Maybe Zack was just really hungry.  You know how he is when his mind’s on food.”

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

Rude frowned at the mahjong board in concentration.  Genesis won the first game but this time, the Turk was ahead.  He matched a couple of tiles and sat back, covertly admiring his opponent as Genesis leaned forward to take his turn.  The sweep of dark lashes concealed the fighter’s aqua eyes as he contemplated his next move.  The more Rude looked at him, the more his attraction grew. 

 

Genesis shrugged and made his move—which Rude thought was unusually short-sighted given the skills the redhead had demonstrated in the last game.

 

“You did that on purpose,” Rude announced softly, sure of his observation.

 

Genesis glanced up from the board and the right corner of his mouth curved up slightly.  “I can’t very well sit here and do nothing, can I?  Of course, I did that on purpose.”

 

“You made a bad move on purpose,” the Turk elaborated.  “Are you trying to lose or something?”

 

Genesis covered his mouth and coughed, averting his eyes.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Rude cracked a hint of a smile.  “I can take it like a man if you win again.”

 

“How can you be sure I didn’t simply get lucky, the last game?”  Genesis kept a straight face but Rude could see the teasing light in his eyes.  Elegant though he was, the fighter had a mischievous streak and Rude had seen that look from another, louder redhead before.

 

“You’re too crafty for that.” 

 

They stared at one another, flirting without flirting.  Rude felt something brush against his leg under the table and he almost gave a start when he realized it was Genesis’s booted foot. 

 

“How crafty would you say I am?” Genesis murmured.  The toe of his boot delicately slid up Rude’s calf, lifting the hem of the tailored pant leg a little.

 

Rude shook his head and kept his eyes on the fighter’s.  “Don’t know yet.  I’m still trying to figure that out.”

 

“So you’re testing me, then,” Genesis guessed.  His smile grew until his teeth flashed a little.  “I don’t think I’m the only clever one at this table.”  The boot caressing Rude’s leg moved up and inward, sliding along the inside of the Turk’s left knee and steadily moving up the thigh.

 

Rude felt his pulse pounding in his ears and he didn’t move as the redhead’s boot slowly made progress further up his thigh.  His doubts concerning Genesis’s interest in him were quickly being blown away.

 

_~If this isn’t flirtation I’ll eat these fucking mahjong tiles.  Want him…god I want him.  Now’s not the time or place, though.  Oh shit…he’s rubbing my crotch!  Maybe this IS the time and place.~_

Genesis examined Rude’s face carefully as he gently kneaded between his legs with his boot.  He’d surprised himself by making such a bold move and he wondered if it was a big mistake.  Rude’s Adam’s apple moved as the bald man swallowed and Genesis was certain that he wasn’t mistaking the lust he saw in those brown eyes behind the shades.  He decided to add another temptation and he faked a yawn, curling his tongue and displaying it long enough for Rude to get a glance at what he wanted to show him.  At the last minute, he covered his mouth as if remembering it was the polite thing to do.

 

The Turk’s eyebrows shot up.  He might have been imagining it, but he swore he saw a silver stud piercing Genesis’s tongue.  He hardened completely in his pants and he came close to knocking the table over and dragging the redhead off to a supply closet or something.  Only years of discipline kept him in check and his breathing deepened with lust.

 

“My apologies,” Genesis murmured after he finished the fabricated yawn and took his hand away from his mouth.  He removed his foot from between Rude’s legs and gave him a rehearsed look of casual innocence.  “I meant to rest my foot on the empty chair beside you.  I must be more tired than I thought.”

 

“I guess so,” Rude agreed huskily. 

 

By the expression on his face, he wasn’t fooled by the act and that suited Genesis just fine.  He _wanted_ the Turk to know he was seducing him and he was curious to find out if he could push enough buttons to make that dominating side he’d seen hints of come out. 

 

“Do you mind if we pick this up again later?” Genesis inquired politely.  “I think I should get some rest.  I suspect things will be busy once we arrive at Junon Harbor.”

 

Rude nodded and pointed toward the hallway behind Genesis, at the back of the social room.  “The sleeping quarters are through there.  I don’t know if you’ll find an empty cot but if you don’t, you could sleep on one of the couches in here.”

 

“Thank you,” Genesis replied cordially.  He stood up and gave Rude one last, long look before going. 

 

The Turk stared after him, watching the way his long red coat shifted with his movements.  He sighed and rubbed his forehead.  He was going to need to find a free bathroom to take care of his stiffy.  Rude stood up and went in the opposite direction from the object of his desire.  He stepped aside to let a middle-aged WRO woman go past before walking down the narrow corridor in search of an unoccupied restroom.  He lifted his hand to knock on the first door he came to and he heard Reno’s unmistakable moan from another bathroom three doors down.

 

Rude frowned and almost called out to his partner.  He hadn’t seen him come down from the upper deck and he wondered if he was seasick.  His inquiry died on his lips when he heard a rhythmic bumping noise and another low moan from Reno.  Now he recognized it as a moan of pleasure and shortly after he heard it, the sound of another male’s groan floated through the wall.  Reno was in one of the bathrooms with Strife, obviously…and they were fucking.

 

Rude sighed and knocked on the door he was facing.  Hearing them going at it wasn’t helping his state of arousal to cool down.  When nobody answered his knock, he pushed the door open and went inside, locking it securely behind him.  The bald man smirked a little when he heard Cloud try to shush Reno.

 

_~Best of luck getting him to be quiet, Strife.~_

~********************************~

* * *

 

“Right there, Blondie,” Reno encouraged hotly as the blonde’s next thrust stroked him inside just right.  “Oh god, that’s fucking good!”

 

“Shhh,” Cloud gasped.  He had Reno pressed against the wall with his pants down around his ankles and he was taking him from behind.  The redhead’s hands were splayed over the surface of the thin wall and his cheek was resting against it.  His pale features were flushed with pleasure and his sexy little moans were growing louder by the minute.

 

“Can’t,” Reno whimpered as Cloud bucked firmly into him.  “Oh fuck baby…don’t ask me to be quiet!  Feels so goddamned good…mph!”

 

Cloud put his hand over Reno’s mouth and nuzzled his cheek from behind.  His pumping didn’t slow as he muffled the Turk’s wanton exclamations of pleasure. 

 

“You’ve got to be quiet,” Cloud whispered unsteadily into Reno’s ear.  “Anyone in the bathrooms on either side of us are getting a load of smut from you right now.”

 

Reno laughed behind Cloud’s muffling hand at the blonde’s choice of words.  He couldn’t give the cheeky response he wanted and Cloud’s dick shoved in at an angle that made his eyes cross briefly.  His snappy comeback became a ragged groan of ecstasy and he was suddenly appreciative of Cloud’s foresight in covering his mouth.

 

Cloud felt like a hypocrite as his own cries of pleasure threatened to burst free from his mouth.  Reno wriggled his ass after the next thrust and the action provoked Cloud’s wilder instincts.  He growled and nipped at Reno’s neck as he fucked him harder.  He thought he heard a cracking sound but he was so distracted by his carnal urges that he paid no attention to it.  Reno’s distorted cries became desperate under Cloud’s hand, the vibrations humming against his skin.  Cloud pounded into him even harder and reached around with his free hand to start jacking him off. 

 

Just as his fingers curled around the Turk’s stiff, swollen cock, Cloud discovered just how thin and fragile the walls around them were.  With suddenness that didn’t allow he or Reno to try and catch their balance, the wall that Cloud was fucking the Turk against gave and the two of them crashed right through it into the next bathroom. 

 

Reno’s breath expulsed with a surprised shout as he fell on his stomach and Cloud’s weight landed on him.  He winced as he felt the broken pieces of thin wood pressing against his ribs but he found it so hilarious that Cloud had literally fucked him through the wall that he ended up grinning instead of complaining.  Both of them started to get up and they froze when they realized that the bathroom they had crashed into was occupied.  Cloud and Reno both looked up with wide eyes to see Rude sitting on the closed lid of the toilet.  He had a prominent erection and it was sticking out of his unzipped pants with his hand curled around it. 

 

Rude stared down at the entangled couple, who were in turn staring up at him with equal expressions of surprise.  Cloud’s white, round-cheeked little ass was bare and conveniently visible from Rude’s vantage point.  If the situation were different, he might have taken a moment to admire the toned bottom.  As it was, he was sitting there with his dick in his hand and that was more embarrassing to him than the sight of his partner and Strife crashing through the wall and landing at his feet.  Never mind that they were both caught with their pants down…he was caught in a position that made it look like he’d been jerking off to the sound of them fucking.

 

“It’s not what it looks like,” Rude mumbled, his face going ruddy and hot.

 

Cloud’s face and ears blossomed with a delightful shade of pink, making his big blue eyes stand out more.  Reno’s tourmaline eyes were wider than Rude had ever seen them before, but the redhead’s mouth slowly curved into a grin and he began to chuckle breathlessly.

 

“Ya know,” Reno grunted between snickers, “some of the shit that happens to us, we couldn’t make up if we tried!”

 

Cloud bowed his head and groaned softly, his humiliation unbearable.  Rude hastily began to tuck his rapidly deflating erection back into his underwear and pants. 

 

“Come on, partner,” Reno chuckled, “’fess up.  You were getting off on it!”

 

“Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Rude insisted stubbornly.  He shoved his embarrassment into the background and zipped his fly back up.  Just as he was about to stand up and offer a hand to poor Cloud, someone knocked on his door.

 

“Is everything okay in there?”  It was a male voice that none of them recognized. 

 

“Yes,” all three of them announced in unison.  Cloud and Rude both grimaced, wondering what the person on the other side of the door thought of three male voices responding to his call.

 

“Let’s get tidied up and get the hell out of here,” Cloud mumbled as he struggled off of Reno.  He cupped his hands over his privates shyly and Rude politely looked away while he stood up and pulled his pants back up—even though the bald Turk had already seen Cloud totally naked before. 

 

Meanwhile, Reno was climbing to his feet and he was still snickering helplessly.  “So let’s see,” the redhead reflected.  “So far it’s been a bed with Rufus, more pairs of cuffs than I can count with Cloud and now a wall.  Damn, I’m good.  I make people break shit when they fuck me!”

 

“Glad you’re so happy about it,” Cloud grumbled, his face still charmingly pink.  “Maybe you can be the one to explain it when they ask questions.”

 

“Hey, you’re the one that fucked me right through the wall, hot stuff,” Reno laughed.  He finished doing up his pants and he clutched his sides as his laughter started to overwhelm him.  “Aw shit…I’m gonna bust a nutt laughing!  You two should see your faces!”

 

Rude and Cloud exchanged a grim look, both of them fighting unwilling grins from the contagious effect of Reno’s mirth. 

 

“Do you wanna pop him or should I?” Rude murmured.

 

Reno fought for breath, his hysterical laughter not dying in the least at the hollow threat.  Cloud shook his head and a tiny smile began to curve his lips.  He put his arm around Reno and guided him back through the broken part of the wall into the bathroom they’d crashed in from. 

 

“Settle down,” Cloud said softly.  “It’s bad enough that we broke the wall but if people see you giggling like a hyena when we come out, they’re going to think we were snorting drugs in here or something.”

 

Reno nodded and covered his mouth with one hand while holding his aching stomach with the other.  Rude sighed and sat down on his toilet seat again, crossing his arms and waiting for his partner to regain control over himself.  Like Cloud, he was smiling a little despite his annoyance.  Reno’s ability to laugh so readily at even the most humiliating experiences was part of what made him so irresistible.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	30. Chapter 30

“Alliance”

Chapter 30

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Reno got into a card game with some of the other Turks shortly after the…incident.  Cloud wasn’t in the mood for cards or anything else that might lead to someone discussing the wrecked bathroom wall and questioning it.  He chose to make himself scarce and find somewhere to sit or lounge quietly for the rest of the trip.  Evidently Rude had the same idea.  The bald man took a seat in the far corner of the lounging area of the second-level cabin and got out his laptop, presumably to do some file work. 

 

Cloud almost said something to him, thinking that Rude should try to relax a little and take his mind off work until they reached Junon.  He thought better of it though, because he knew that the big man had been in the position he and Reno crashed in on for a reason.  Rude had just finished interacting with Genesis and it was apparent that he wanted him.  Cloud guessed that work was a distraction for the Turk, so he left him alone and decided to get something to eat and find Zack before searching out his own quiet little niche.

 

He searched the upper-top deck and the lower middle deck first, checking the sleeping cabins quietly for a familiar head of thick black hair.  When he didn’t find him he checked the mess hall, thinking he might have been hungrier than he’d let on and could still be eating.  There was no sign of him and Cloud finally went to the very bottom deck, where food and medical backup supply crates were kept.  Hardly anyone liked to go down there because it was dark and dank, and aside from the supply crates there was really nowhere to sit except on the floor.

 

“Zack?”  Cloud spotted him as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs.  The ex-Soldier was sitting on one of the supply crates in the far corner of the room, with one knee pulled up and the other leg dangling over the side of the crate.  Zack’s hands were locked around his knee and his back was resting against the cool metal wall.  It didn’t look comfortable but the distracted look on the fighter’s face indicated that he didn’t care.

 

“Hey, Sunshine.”  Zack turned his head to regard him and he smiled warmly, but there was something melancholy and sad in his eyes.

 

Cloud approached and hopped up on the crate beside him.  “Okay, what’s wrong?”  He studied his lover with concerned blue eyes. 

 

“Why do you think something’s wrong?” inquired Zack with a little chuckle.  “Everybody wants a little time to themselves once in a while.”

 

Cloud nodded.  “Yeah, except you’re not _‘everybody’_ and I know you better than that.  You like to talk about big fights when they’re over.  You like being around other people.  Besides, you disappeared right after Reno joked about going to Rufus’s cabin.”

 

Zack shrugged and looked away.  “Just don’t want to push my luck with the man, is all.  You and Reno could get away with crashing his quarters but I don’t know him well enough to do it.”

 

Cloud tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.  “The Zack Fair I know wouldn’t let that stop him.  Come on, you’re acting like he intimidates you and for a guy that can even befriend someone like Sephiroth, that’s not normal.”

 

Zack looked at him thoughtfully, as if trying to decide what to say next.  Finally, he sighed and nodded.  “I’ll admit that it kind of gets to me, how much he looks like Lazard.  I know he’s not the same guy but it brings back memories every time I see him.  You know the Director and I had sort of a thing, right?”

 

Cloud nodded, choosing not to go into details of the vision he’d gotten that day when he discovered where his tantric knowledge came from.  He worried his lower lip with his teeth and tried to think of a tactful way to ask his lover about his suspicions.  “Zack, you don’t have to answer this if you really don’t want to, but did he…did Lazard… _force_ you to do anything with him?”

 

Zack’s amethyst eyes were guarded as he opened his mouth.  He hesitated and his dark brows knitted, which only made Cloud’s suspicions stronger.  “No, not really,” Zack finally said.

 

Cloud frowned at him.  “What does that mean?  Either he forced you or he didn’t.”  He snapped his mouth shut at the end and remembered that wasn’t always the case.  He hadn’t exactly been willing at first with Rufus but he’d felt differently by the end.  Strangely enough, what Zack said next made Cloud think maybe Lazard and Rufus really could be related, rather than freakishly similar in looks.

 

“It wasn’t force,” the sable-haired man sighed.  “If I really wanted to, I could have put a stop to it.  If anything, I’d say he coerced me.  He had me convinced I didn’t have a choice but I was the one that let that happen.  By the time he disappeared, I’d taken over the role of aggressor…know what I mean?”

 

“I think so,” Cloud nodded.  “So you went from being uh…uke to seme?”

 

Zack chuckled and shook his head.  “No, man.  I was never bottoming for him.  At least, I never had him inside of me.  Hell, he ‘topped’ me all the time but he was the one taking it.  I just mean by the end I was the aggressive one.  It was because of him that I figured out I was bi and not just crazy.”

 

Cloud smiled a little.  “I don’t know if you’re not crazy, but I’m glad you’re not straight.” 

 

Zack smirked and scooted closer to him to throw an arm around him.  “I started wondering about it after I entered the SOLDIER program.  There weren’t a lot of people my age in my hometown so I didn’t get much exposure to guys _or_ girls until I joined the military.”

 

“So you knew you were bi when you met me?” Cloud asked softly.

 

“Yeah, I’d been fooling around with Lazard for a few weeks already when we met.” Zack sighed.  “I swear, if I’d known what was going to happen to us, I’d have said to hell with the legal age of consent and gone for it, Chocobo.  I’ve got to remember to thank Aerith again for giving me the chance to make up for lost opportunities.”  He caressed Cloud’s jaw with one hand and leaned in for a brief, soft kiss.

 

Cloud returned the kiss with feeling, just as grateful to be with him.  When it ended, he hesitantly asked another question.  “So how did it start?  I mean, did he just come up to you one day and order you to drop your pants?”

 

Zack blurted a laugh.  “He wasn’t _that_ abrupt about it, but he did sort of pounce on me.” 

 

He remembered that first encounter with something between embarrassment and pleasure.  He’d gone to report the results of his latest mission to Lazard and when he was finished, the Director circled around from behind his desk and stalked him.  Zack of course had no idea what was going on at the time and when his superior started kissing him and feeling him up, all of those feelings he sometimes got when he looked at other guys burst to the surface and he couldn’t deny it anymore.

 

Zack explained it as best he could to Cloud, without going into major details.  It was hard to describe the way his relationship was with Lazard.  The man had authority over him so yes; he hadn’t felt like he could say “no” with any real strength at first.  It wasn’t until several encounters later that he’d come to admit to himself that he just didn’t want it to stop. 

 

“I think I could have started loving him eventually,” Zack admitted softly.  “There was something thrilling about getting seduced by the head of my department.  He used to call me his ‘toy soldier’ and tell me not to get hung up on feelings, but he winded up helping both of us in the end.”

 

“Both of us?” repeated Cloud with a frown.

 

Zack nodded.  “He’s the one that woke me up when we were stuck in that lab in the basement.  He’d gotten his hands on Angeal’s cells and turned himself into a copy of him.  He said he did it to get revenge on ShinRa but I’m still not sure about those details.  Anyhow, I thought I was looking at my old bud and I think Lazard knew that.  He used a little tough love to snap me out of it, telling me a real Soldier wouldn’t sit there waiting to be used as a guinea pig again.  It gave me the final push I needed to break free and get you the hell out of there.  I guess you don’t remember because you were almost a vegetable, but he helped fight off Hollander when the creepy bastard came after you for your cells.”

 

“I really missed a lot while I was out,” Cloud murmured thoughtfully.  “I don’t remember any of that.  I’ve got blurry memories of you talking to me and holding me…I remember you ruffling my hair a lot and…and the end.  I don’t remember us breaking out or Hollander coming after me.”

 

“If Lazard hadn’t helped, he might have gotten you,” Zack said with a frown.  “After that, he died.”

 

Cloud’s topaz gaze was soft with sympathy.  “I’m sorry.”

 

“Thanks,” Zack said with a little smile.  “Like I said, I didn’t exactly love him but I think I was starting to.  It would have been a lot harder if I had but I think he got whatever closure he was after before he passed on.”

 

Zack held him a little closer and brushed his lips over his cheek.  “I’m kind of glad you don’t remember all that.  It was a hard struggle and it was kind of scary, being on the run from ShinRa.  All I wanted to do was keep you safe.”

 

Cloud turned his head and kissed him on the mouth.  “Love you,” he whispered.

 

Zack responded to the kiss and deepened it, pushing his fingers through Cloud’s soft hair.  His mouth moved with sensual care against the blonde’s and his tongue gently pushed in to caress his.  Cloud’s body heat rose and his breath quickened and what Zack intended as a brief kiss turned into a make out session.  Aroused by the taste and feel of the smaller man in his arms, Zack pulled his hand out of Cloud’s hair and slid it down, over his shoulders and to his stomach.  He tugged the blonde’s shirt out of his pants and deftly slipped his hand up under it, exploring the sleek muscles of his stomach and chest. 

 

Cloud uttered a soft gasp of pleasure into his mouth as Zack fondled a nipple and he began to reciprocate, running his hands over the dark-haired fighter’s shoulders and chest without a care for where they were or who could come down and see them.  In the back of his mind he wondered how he could get so hot this quickly when he’d just recently destroyed the bathroom wall in his vigor with Reno.

 

~But we were…interrupted.  Neither of us got to finish so technically I only got half a lay.  Oh Shiva…now I’m starting to sound like Reno!~

 

“Hold it,” Cloud gasped as he broke the kiss.  “We can’t let it go too far down here.  People come down to get things now and then.”

 

Zack groaned a little but he obligingly stopped feeling him up.  “Okay cutie-pie.  When we get back to Junon, you owe me.”

 

Cloud smirked.  “You’re on.  So, about Lazard…I wonder if he and Rufus are really related.  I mean, could he have been his real father?”  Cloud had always wondered how a fat, unattractive man like the old president managed to father such a handsome son.

 

The swift change of subject was a clever move on his part and Zack silently congratulated him for it.  He laughed at Cloud’s theory, though.  “Unless the president’s wife was a child molester, that’s not possible.  Lazard would have had to be seven years old.  Naw, if they’re related it’s not as father and son.” 

 

He frowned as he cast his mind back through the years.  There was something important nagging him, buried in his memories.  “I’m remembering something,” he announced in a low voice, his eyes unfocused as he struggled to recall it.  “I’m not the only one that noticed the resemblance between them.  I met a few people that said they looked a lot alike before I ever even laid eyes on Rufus Shinra and I remember talking to a lady in Sector 5 that said she knew a woman that recently died who had an affair with the president…and she said he had a son.”

 

Cloud’s eyes widened.  “So then Lazard could have been Rufus’s half brother.”

 

Zack nodded slowly.  “It would explain a lot about some of the messages I got on my phone from Lazard after Rufus was promoted to Vice President.  He was real bitter about it and he kept going on about ‘bad blood’.  I think he started working with Hollander to get back at his old man, if he was really President Shinra’s bastard kid.”

 

Cloud grimaced at his lover’s word use.  “I really hate that term: ‘ _bastard_ ’ kid.  Just because the parents didn’t sign a piece of paper and exchange rings doesn’t make a kid illegitimate.  If it takes a ceremony to make a birth mean something then I’ve bred a lot of bastard chocobos.”

 

 Zack burst into laughter and squeezed the blonde affectionately.  “The animal kingdom doesn’t follow the same rules as us, but I get where you’re coming from.  I know you’ve helped take care of a lot of orphaned and abandoned kids so I see why it bugs you.  I don’t think of ‘fatherless’ kids that way but society does.  From a politician perspective, news that you’ve got a kid from infidelity could really screw with your public image, you know?”

 

Cloud nodded.  “Yeah, it’s not fair but I get that.  I just hate seeing people take it out on the kids like that.  Call the father a ‘bastard’ for abandoning them but don’t punish someone for what they can’t help.”

 

“You’re really passionate about this,” Zack observed with a smile.  “It really says something about your character, Cloudy.  You’re one righteous dude.”

 

Cloud shrugged, embarrassed.  “I just think it’s dumb.  So, Lazard was probably Rufus’s half-brother?  I wonder if he knows.”

 

 Remembering the way the president’s expression went so carefully neutral the day Zack mentioned his resemblance to the former Director, Zack nodded.  “I’ll bet he does.  I wonder what that would do to a kid, to find out his old man was cheating on his mother and got some other woman pregnant.”

 

Cloud felt a burst of sympathy for Rufus as the possible revelation brought him closer to understanding the man.  “Growing up with all that responsibility hanging over his head probably didn’t make it any easier,” he murmured thoughtfully.  When they returned to Junon and things settled down again, he thought he should try to do something nice for Rufus.  He didn’t know if he’d ever muster the nerve to ask him about the theory directly but if it was true, it would explain a lot about the president’s apparent coldness and ruthless nature.

 

“You’re a really sweet guy, Cloud,” Zack whispered with a smile when he saw the naked sympathy in the blonde’s eyes.  “Am I wrong to think your feelings for the president are a lot like mine were for Lazard?  You kind of love him, don’t you?”

 

 “He’s kind of a hard guy for me to love,” Cloud alluded with a little smirk.  “It’s…”

 

“…Complicated,” finished Zack for him with a smile.  “Sounds like in some ways, he’s got more in common with Lazard than looks.”

 

“Sounds like it,” agreed Cloud.  He shifted closer to Zack and laid his head on his shoulder.  “I don’t _like_ him a lot of the time, but I think I do love him at least a little.  It’s taken a while to get there but I just…can’t help it.”

 

Zack reached up to caress the blonde’s face with his fingers.  “I know.  I was in the same predicament.  So, do you understand why it spooks me a little to get involved with him?”

 

Cloud tilted his head back and looked at him with a nod.  “I understand.  I think it would spook me too if I were you.”

 

Zack lowered his mouth to the smaller man’s and kissed his soft lips, grateful that he wasn’t pushing the issue further.  Cloud responded with gentle eagerness and the kiss deepened further.  It only took moments for both young men to once again forget where they were and why making out was a bad idea.  Their hands began to explore one another’s bodies and just as Zack slipped a hand between Cloud’s thighs to rub his crotch, a familiar voice rudely brought him back to his senses.

 

“Check out the lust puppies,” Reno said smugly.

 

Neither of them had heard him come down the stairs or approach and they pulled away from one another hastily when they saw that Rude was with the redhead.  The bald man didn’t comment and his expression was unreadable, but Reno was grinning like a fox in a chicken coop.

 

“You snuck up on us,” Zack accused.  He couldn’t help but smile a little when he saw Cloud’s face turn pink.  “Look at what you did…now we’ve got a pink chocobo on our hands.”

 

“We didn’t sneak up,” Reno corrected, his smirk never dropping.  “I even cleared my throat when we got to the bottom of the stairs and saw ya.  The two of you were just too busy playing tonsil tennis to notice.”

 

Cloud grumbled and scooted forward to hop off of the crate he was on.  “Is there something you need or did you and Rude come down here to…you know.”

 

Rude became very interested in the ceiling and Reno clucked his tongue.  “After what happened in the bathroom?  Even I can learn my lesson for a little while, Blondie.  I can wait ‘till we dock in Junon to get more action.  I just wanted to see if you guys wanted to come have some drinks with me in the mess and this was the last place we hadn’t checked yet.”

 

“The bathroom?” Zack’s eyebrows shot up with interest.  “On my way down here I heard someone saying the wall between two of the bathrooms has a huge hole in it.  Did you guys have something to do with that?”

 

Cloud and Rude both looked mortified but Reno’s grin just broadened.  The redhead nodded.  “Oh yeah.  Cloud was putting it to me real good.  I guess he did his job a little too well, ‘cause the next thing I knew we were crashing into the next bathroom…right at Rude’s feet.  How do ya like that shit?”

 

Zack blinked and looked from Cloud’s ruddy face to Rude’s frozen one.  “Is he joking?  Sometimes I can’t tell.”

 

“I wish he was,” Cloud mumbled.

 

Zack burst into laughter and Reno followed him.  “Oh man…what I wouldn’t give to have been a fly on one of the _other_ walls when that happened!  What are the odds?”  Zack patted Cloud with insincere sympathy.  “I guess you two are lucky you busted in on Rude and not someone else.  Imagine if it had been Vincent or Tseng!”

 

“I’d rather not,” Rude grumbled.  He made a show of checking his watch and he tightened his gloved hand over the handle of his briefcase.  “Well, we’ve found ‘em partner.  I’ve got some files to work on.  See you later.”

 

“Later, man.”  Reno watched his partner leave with an amused grin.  When Rude was up the stairs and out of sight, the redhead turned to his other two lovers and eyed them thoughtfully.  “So you two came down here to make out, huh?  Damn Cloud…and they say _I’m_ a nympho.”

 

“We didn’t come here to make out,” Cloud sighed.  “We were just talking.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Reno said slyly.  “So what language was that I saw you using, Blondie?  Must be a real tongue-twisting dialect ‘cause from where I was standing, it sure looked like kissing to me.”

 

“Well, it ended up in kissing,” Zack admitted with a wink.  “We did start out talking, though.  Just got a little frisky there at the end.”

 

“Hmm, no objections to that.”  Reno reached out and tweaked a strand of Cloud’s fluffy golden hair.  “So how about it?  We’ve still got hours to kill on this boat and since we can’t pass the time fucking without busting down walls or giving people a show, might as well have some celebration drinks, yo.”

 

Zack snickered softly as Cloud put his face in his hands.  “Feather-head could probably use a drink to loosen up a little and I think a beer or three sounds pretty good.”

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

They ran into Cid and Barret in the mess hall after about an hour and they joined them for some drinks by the time another two hours passed, Zack was unsteady on his feet and Cloud cut him off from drinking.  The black-haired fighter didn’t argue, knowing that his tolerance wasn’t what it used to be and uninterested in spending the rest of the trip throwing up.  People were waking up and seeking food by then so there were a few sleeping bunks available.  Cloud and Reno helped Zack into one and they lay down together in another bunk adjacent to it and napped as well.  The booze did its work and all three of them slept for the rest of the trip, not waking up until Tifa came in and gently roused them to inform them the ship had docked.

 

It took roughly an hour to get people and personal belongings unloaded from the transport ships.  Cloud and Zack stuck around to help even after they got their own bags and so did Tifa and Barret.  Reno was suffering a form of jet lag and he took a cab to his apartment to get some rest.  He was going to talk to his partner before he left but he saw Rude talking with Genesis near the boarding ramp and he had enough tact to leave the two of them alone.  It was hard enough to get Rude moving on his own without someone interrupting his momentum. 

 

Cloud spotted Rufus and Tseng exiting the ship after a while and the president’s eyes met his across the distance.  A faint smile curved Rufus’s lips and he gave Cloud a subtle nod of greeting, which the fighter returned.  Rufus murmured something to Tseng and Cloud could have sworn he saw the Wutaian tense a bit.  The pair of them walked together towards a black limo waiting for them at the entrance to the harbor docks and a baggage handler followed behind them, pushing a trolley with their luggage.

 

“They always travel in style, don’t they?”

 

Cloud turned at the sound of the cultured voice and he smirked a little at Reeve and nodded.  “I notice you don’t have any fancy cars waiting to pick you up.”

 

“No,” agreed Reeve with a smile at Vincent, who had come up silently beside him.  “We’re taking a cab.  The money it costs to hire a limo could feed a family of six for a week.”

 

“Where’s Cait Sith and Monkeyshines?” Zack asked with a grin.  He liked Reeve.  The man had a good sense of humor and he wasn’t full of himself, despite his position of authority and VIP status. 

 

“They’re both safely in their crates and being delivered to my office at Headquarters,” Reeve assured him.  “I can’t leave them active without supervision of some sort…they would both get into no end of trouble.”

 

“Sounds like a pair of kids,” Cloud snorted.

 

“They aren’t dissimilar,” agreed Reeve.  “Speaking of kids, I’ll bet you, Barret and Tifa are anxious to get back to Denzel and Marlene.  Why don’t you let my people take it from here and get a lift to Headquarters?”

 

Cloud considered it.  There really wasn’t much for them to help with and Reeve was right…he was anxious to see the kids.  A glance at Barret and Tifa showed him they were even more eager to go.  “I guess we should do that.  Zack and I can take Fenrir, so maybe the rest of you can squeeze into one cab if you and Vincent are going to Headquarters.”

 

“We are,” Vincent nodded. 

 

“Unfortunately,” sighed Reeve good-naturedly.  “I’d love to go straight to my apartment, have a soak in the tub and crawl into bed but there’s paperwork to be done and reports to go over.  I’ve got documents to sign concerning Weiss and we’ve got pictures to develop.”

 

“Pictures?” Tifa repeated curiously.

 

“Photo identification,” explained Vincent softly.  “It’s necessary not only for the prisoners but also for the dead on both sides.”

 

“Tseng also wants Cissnei to have a look through them,” Reeve said with a look of distaste on his handsome features.  “One of her attackers was still at large and Tseng wants to know if he was amongst the prisoners or the dead.  I just hope that poor girl is okay with it.”

 

“Those Turks sho’ take it seriously when someone beats up one of their own,” Barret remarked.

 

Cloud looked away and Tifa shared an uncomfortable glance with Reeve and Zack.  Barret wasn’t aware that Cissnei’s assault wasn’t just a case of getting beaten up and it wasn’t their place to inform him of the truth. 

 

“Well, they really trashed her,” Zack said tactfully.  “Beat her nearly to death, in fact.  It wasn’t the same thing as gunning someone down in the heat of battle; they caught her on a scouting mission and put her in the hospital.”  His answer was truthful, even though he didn’t include all of the information.

 

The explanation was sufficient enough.  Barret’s mouth pressed into a hard line and he nodded grimly.  “Then I hope she finds the last one in those pictures,” he muttered, thinking of his adopted daughter and what he’d have done if someone ever beat up Marlene that way.  “There ain’t a damn thing right about kicking around a helpless prisoner…especially no woman!  I’d like a few minutes alone with one of ‘em my damn self.”

 

“Step in line with the rest of us and grab a number,” Zack said seriously.  “If this last guy is one of the prisoners, he’s going to find out he’d have been better off if he’d died in combat.”

 

Cloud examined his lover and felt a chill race down his spine.  Zack’s eyes were hard and cold and his comely face had a stern, unforgiving expression on it.  Moments like this reminded Cloud that for all his boyish horseplay and tender lovemaking, Zack Fair was a trained killer and he did have a dark side under the right circumstances.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

Marlene and Denzel met them in the lobby as soon as they entered Headquarters.  The smiles on the adult’s faces died as soon as they realized that Denzel was hobbling to them on a pair of crutches.  His left calf was encased in a cast and there was writing squiggled all over it.

 

“What happened to your leg?!” Tifa cried as she closed the distance between them.  Cloud and Barret quickly followed.  The coalminer’s pleasure at seeing his adopted daughter again was tempered with concern for the boy that was like a brother to her.

 

“I had a little accident,” Denzel said sheepishly.  “It’s no big deal, okay?”

 

“He was showing off for his new friends,” Marlene said in her Important Voice.  “The dummy jumped off a roof!”

 

Denzel shot a _“You promised you’d keep your mouth shut”_ look at Marlene but she only shrugged and crossed her arms over her little chest, returning his look with one of her own that said she was still angry with him for making such a stupid move.

 

“How high was this roof?” Tifa demanded, thinking of how many tall buildings there were in Junon.

 

Denzel shrugged.  “It was only a couple of stories high.  The guys made a bet and I couldn’t back down.”  His voice cracked a little at the end of his sentence and he cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed as the timber deepened chaotically for a moment.

 

“A couple of stories!  You could have broken your neck!”  Tifa had the perfect tone and infliction of a worried mother and Cloud stood looking at the boy with a fatherly, stern expression.

 

Zack grinned knowingly.  Denzel was at that age which Zack wouldn’t have revisited for a million gil.  Hair was growing in new places, his voice was changing…and he was probably noticing girls in a way that made him lower his schoolbooks strategically over his pelvis as they walked by, to conceal what no boy on Gaia could consciously control.

 

“Were there girls watching?” Zack queried.

 

Denzel nodded and Zack exchanged an amused look with Cloud and winked at Tifa.  “Don’t be too hard on him, Tifa.  When there are girls watching you might as well put a gun to a guy’s head and threaten to blow his brains out if he doesn’t take the dare.  You women don’t know your own power.”

 

Tifa rolled her eyes and looked at Cloud.  “What’s your take on that theory?”

 

Cloud shifted uncomfortably and lowered his eyes as he nodded.  “It’s true.  Don’t you remember me trying to impress you at that age?  It’s kind of a right of passage…even if…well, you know.”

 

_~Even if you’re fantasizing about the boy next door.~_

Tifa groaned a little and looked to Barret, who was grinning his rough, masculine grin.  “That’s how it is, girl,” the coal miner confirmed.  “Better get used to it ‘cause the women make jackasses of us all.”

 

Truthfully, Tifa was trying not to laugh.  All of the guys were looking sheepish and even though Cloud was completely gay, she _did_ have some memories of him doing things to impress her just like the other boys when they were kids.  It seemed to be some sort of hardwired, competitive instinct for boys of all shapes, sizes and orientation to show off for girls.

 

“Cloud jumps off roofs all the time,” Denzel reminded awkwardly.

 

Cloud looked a bit alarmed.  “I’m Mako enhanced and trained to fall long distances without hurting myself,” he informed the teenager.  “You aren’t.”

 

“Well I _will_ be some day,” Denzel argued.  “I’m going to join the WRO and they’ll train me.  I won’t be as strong as you since they don’t do the Mako stuff but I’ll still learn how to fight.  I’ve been practicing.”

 

Cloud knew that the kid could hold his own in a combat situation better than a lot of other kids his age.  He’d seen it from a distance before.  He smiled at him—even though he inwardly hated the thought of Denzel joining any military organization.  The only reason he didn’t vehemently object to it was because for one thing, the WRO was run by a trusted friend and for another, as someone that was once Denzel’s age with similar dreams he knew that criticizing or discouraging his plans wouldn’t stop him from carrying them out.  If anything it would only serve to drive a wedge between them and drive Denzel to seek recruitment that much faster.

 

“Until that happens, just remember you’re not there yet,” Cloud murmured gently.  “And you’ll never get there if you get yourself killed pulling reckless stunts, okay?”

 

Denzel smiled a little.  “Okay.”

 

“Why haven’t they healed you with materia?” Zack wondered aloud.  “I mean, shouldn’t they have just used a Cure spell after they set the bone?”

 

“They said all the materia went with the armies,” Marlene informed him. 

 

Reeve approached, now that the family lecture appeared to be finishing.  “The materia we’ve still got should be charged back up in a couple of days.  As soon as it is, I’ll arrange for it to be used on him so we can get that thing off his leg.”

 

“Wait until you’ve gotten the critically injured fighters taken care of, first,” advised Cloud with a frown.  “I know the cast is uncomfortable but Denzel can wear it until we’ve saved everyone we can.”

 

Reeve nodded, impressed with the blonde’s logic and grateful for it.  “Of course.  It’s really no wonder our people nominated you as their General, Cloud.”  He looked at Denzel, who had perked up at the mention of Cloud’s new, surprise rank.  “Are you okay with that, Denzel?  I know it itches and it’s a pain to take a shower but Cloud’s right…there are people that could die without materia intervention.”

 

Denzel nodded, his eyes wide.  “Sure.  The cast is kind of cool anyway.  Everyone’s been signing it.” 

 

Zack smirked and leaned over to whisper something in Tifa’s ear, making her chuckle and nod.

 

Denzel chose to ignore them, knowing they were sharing some kind of private joke about him and girls.  He looked at Cloud with a wondering expression.  “You’re really a general now?”

 

“Uh…nothing official,” Cloud said hastily.  “They’ve just been treating me like one.”

 

“Rufus intends to make it official,” Reeve said with a smile.  “That is, if you’ll accept it.”

 

Cloud looked slightly trapped.  “I don’t really want to re-join ShinRa.  No offense Reeve but I had my fill of that life.”

 

“You wouldn’t be under the command of ShinRa,” explained the engineer.  “Like Zack, you’d be considered voluntary militia and you’ll receive a pension.  You’d be treated as an off-duty retiree and whether you join any future conflicts would be entirely at your discretion.  We discussed it and we think you deserve some compensation for everything you’ve done…not just for us, but also for the planet and everyone living on it.  Just think about it, Cloud.”

 

The blonde fighter caught himself before he could gulp and he looked over at Vincent, who stood silently watching.  The gunman nodded encouragingly at him.  After everything that Vincent had been through at ShinRa’s hands, Cloud found it oddly reassuring that he found the proposal trustworthy.

 

“I’ll think about it,” Cloud promised.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Over the next several days, everyone was either busy with arrangements for the refugees and prisoners or recuperating from the conflict.  Cloud’s friends stayed and rested for two more days after arriving in Junon, before they took their leave.  Amid hugs and kisses from Yuffie (followed by a quick search to be sure she hadn’t nicked anything important), Cloud, Tifa and Zack saw them off.  Cid was returning everyone to their respective homes on the Shera and Marlene was going with Barret to the newly rebuilt town of Corel for the summer.  After exchanging heartfelt hugs with everyone, the little girl strictly ordered Denzel to be more careful. 

 

After their friends had gone, Cloud and Tifa started making plans to return to Edge with Denzel and Zack but there was no rush.  They both wanted to see what happened with Weiss and the other prisoners and Cloud wasn’t in a hurry to be that far away from Reno again. 

 

Genesis began a dubious career as an instructor to the ShinRa military, at the request of Rude.  It was pretty obvious to the bald man’s close acquaintances and lovers that he’d asked Rufus to create the position for Genesis because he wanted to stay close to him.  Reno was practically fuming with impatience, which amused his lovers.  There was something endearing about how badly the redhead wanted his partner to get what he so obviously wanted. 

 

Reno was also annoyed at the extra work load he had to take on while Tseng was being “punished” for insubordination, but after reporting to Rufus’s office and seeing the Wutaian shirtless, collared and secured to an extended chain that led out of the president’s office bedroom, he decided it was worth the temporary burden. 

 

Thinking about the things that Rufus was probably doing to Tseng each night gave Reno a monster hard on and the redhead ended up jumping Cloud one morning just as he was trying to get out the door of the suite he was now sharing with Zack.  Zack returned from breakfast at the cafeteria to find his blonde lover being thoroughly ridden by his redheaded lover.  He had no complaints…in fact, he snapped a picture on his cellphone despite Cloud’s protests. 

 

As far as everyone outside the “circle” was concerned, Tseng was off duty for an undetermined amount of time but there was something he had to do before he completely vanished from public view for his official “vacation”.  Rufus allowed it, knowing that Tseng would keep his word and return to his office as soon as he finished his task.

 

Cissnei identified one of the prisoners as the last of her assailants and though Zack, Reno, Elena and several other people in both the WRO and the Turks wanted dearly to express their righteous anger and inflict bodily harm on him, the privilege belonged to her.  She tiredly declined when Tseng spoke to her about it, explaining that she’d had enough of death and pain.

 

“I know you’re disappointed,” she said achingly to him.

 

“No,” Tseng corrected with a shake of his head.  “Far from it.  You’ve shown strength and courage, little sparrow.  I would be honored to carry out justice for you.”

 

Her eyes filled with tears.  “Thank you.  Please, just end it, Sir.  Maybe the nightmares will stop once he’s gone and I know he won’t be coming after me.”

 

Tseng nodded slowly.  “I promise.  Now take your medication and get some sleep.  Your therapist has informed me that you’ve been making excellent progress and I want you to give it your best in your session tomorrow.”

 

“I promise,” she whispered with a broken little smile.

 

Tseng returned the smile, picked up the briefcase he’d brought with him and turned away.  As soon as he was out the door of Cissnei’s infirmary room, his smile dropped and his sculpted features became cold and set as marble.  A nurse hastily moved out of the way as he stalked gracefully out of the med ward toward the elevator, pulling his cellphone out of his blazer as he went.

 

“Sir, I’m about to begin on the final assailant,” murmured the Turk leader as the other line picked up.  “I can’t give an estimate of how long it will take, but I’ll return to your office as soon as it’s over.  Yes, Sir.  Thank you.”  He ended the call and replaced the phone in his blazer as he stepped into the elevator and selected a lower floor.

 

People moved aside when he arrived at the incarceration level and made his way to the holding cell of Cissnei’s rapist.  When he arrived he ordered the guards to strap the prisoner to a table and not to disturb him afterwards, no matter what they heard.  Once the prisoner was secured, Tseng entered the cell and shut the door behind him before opening his briefcase to reveal all manner of blades, needles and devices.

 

The prisoner’s screams over the next four hours and seventeen minutes were bound to become legendary and they didn’t end until he stopped breathing.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	31. Chapter 31

“Alliance”

Chapter 31

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Wanting to see if the salary he’d started Genesis on was worth it, Rufus instructed Rude to drive him to the training academy a few miles outside of Junon.  He left Tseng secured in his office and…appropriately prepared for later activities. 

 

A week had passed since the allied forces returned to Junon, and it was the first day of Genesis’s new career.  Rufus didn’t expect immediate results but he did expect to find his new instructor putting forth a worthwhile effort.  As they drove through the compound gates, Rude pointed out at the fenced-in field where a large regiment was performing combat exercises with blunt swords. 

 

“There they are, Sir.”

 

Rufus looked at the training field thoughtfully, unsurprised but disappointed as always in the sloppy performance of his troops.  “Drive us to the back.  I want to observe without informing Genesis of our presence, first.”  Instructors tended to work a lot harder when they knew they were being watched and Rufus wanted to know what kind of effort Genesis was making when he wasn’t around.

 

Rude nodded and silently complied.  He supposed he should be a little worried…after all, he’d been the one to suggest giving Genesis this position and if Rufus wasn’t satisfied, he stood to lose some pay too.  Somehow he wasn’t concerned.  He knew Genesis wasn’t the kind of man to do anything half-assed and it wasn’t just because he was a redhead.  Rude vividly remembered all the trouble that Rhapsodos had once caused the organization and he figured if he could do all that, he could probably whip the troops into shape, too.

 

He regretted thinking of the word “whip” as soon as it passed through his mind.  Suddenly Rude couldn’t shake the mental picture of Genesis in tight leather, wielding a whip to punish the troops that didn’t follow his orders to his satisfaction.  The bald man wasn’t typically a sadomasochist but he started salivating in response to the image his brain had painted. 

 

_~If Genesis did things that way I’ll bet a lot of the troops would fuck up on purpose just to…what the HELL am I thinking?~_

 

He gave himself a mental kick in the ass as he drove up to the back fence of the training field and parked the car.  He and Rufus got out quietly and watched as Genesis paced back and forth before the regiment of troops.  They couldn’t see the expression on his face but Rude guessed he wasn’t pleased by the body language he was using. 

 

It was the end of spring in this part of the world and the days were growing hotter.  Genesis wasn’t wearing his coat and his sword was sheathed in the scabbard at his back.  Rude covertly admired the unconcealed view of the redhead’s toned, leather-clad ass as he paced before the regiment.  The pants weren’t tight like the ones in his inappropriate little fantasy but they still hugged his body closely enough to outline the right places.  The company had issued a set of new uniforms to Genesis; custom tailored like Zack’s, with a Velcro slit in the back to allow his wing to emerge unimpeded.  It was the same cut and style as his original gear and it looked good on him.

 

Rude forced himself to stop mentally undressing the fighter and he looked sidelong at his boss, noticing the frown on his face.  The performance of the troops was embarrassing…not just because it was sloppy but also because these were men and women who had been directly involved in the conflict with Deepground.  These people should be seasoned fighters by now but they were performing like recruits.  It was going to take a lot of effort to pull them out of this rut.

 

~****************************************~

* * *

 

Genesis held up his hand and called for a halt.  The rows of troops he was overseeing clumsily stopped their exercise and snapped to attention.  The redhead frowned and walked the length of each line, inspecting every soldier with sharp eyes.  He jotted down quick mental notes about each individual as he went and once he’d inspected all of them, he returned to the front of the line.  His eyes were downcast as he walked and his sensitive mouth was pulled into a frown. 

 

If he had looked up before returning to the head of the regiment, he would have seen that he had an audience.  As it was, he was too distracted by the shoddy performance of his charges to sense the president and Rude’s presence.  He stopped before his pupils and heaved a sigh, looking out over the rows of men and women and shaking his head.

 

“Well _people_ , that was truly…pathetic.”

 

There was movement in the ranks as many of them shifted uncomfortably on their feet like scolded children.  Genesis glared and they quickly stilled.

 

“When I say ‘ _pathetic_ ’,” Genesis went on, “I mean you people suck in the manner of a virgin with a mouth full of broken teeth.”  He thought he heard a snorting sound from somewhere behind him but he ignored it, his attention focused purely on shaming the troops and hopefully shocking some sense into them.  One of the men on the front row glanced at his fellows and took a hesitant step forward. 

 

Genesis tilted his head at him.  “Is there something you’d like to say?”

 

“Sir, yes Sir!” the young trooper announced.  “Most of us aren’t specialized in swordsmanship, Sir!”

 

Genesis smirked without humor.  “You’re _soldiers_.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re specialized in a weapon or not, you are expected to have enough skill to use any weapon sufficiently enough to at least defend yourselves with it, without causing more damage to yourself than your opponent.  Your performance on the firing range this morning was equally abysmal.  Only a select few of you seem to even be putting forth a real effort.  I should hope that you tried harder when you were in real combat…otherwise I might suspect you all of being suicidal.”

 

He allowed his words to sink in for a moment before continuing.  “You are no longer going to coast from paycheck to paycheck.  If any of you have ever complained about your salaries, this is why they haven’t gone up.  I suspect many of you have just been going through the motions.”

 

Genesis stopped and gazed at them coldly.  “Suffer no delusions.  There will be an evaluation at the end of the month and those of you that have not shown significant improvement or at the very least, effort and greater potential, will be expelled from the militia.  The majority of you wield your swords as though you’re hacking at meat.  There’s no passion or pride in your actions and I intend to change that.  You need precision, focus and passion.  Today we’ll begin working on that and I expect to see some improvement by the time we leave this field.”

 

He scanned their faces and finished: “Those of you who do not put forth obvious effort will be assigned to running laps and lavatory cleanup at the end of the day.  Is that clear?”

 

The threat of laps and toilet duty was added incentive to do well and the troops responded with more passion than they had shown for over a year.  “Sir!  Yes, Sir!”

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

Rufus slowly smiled and nodded when he saw how quickly his troops straightened their posture and listened with more attentiveness to Genesis’s instructions.  The redhead wasn’t pulling any punches and he guessed those aqua eyes were intense when glaring. 

 

“I’m satisfied with his methods, Rude,” the president announced.  “We can return to the city, now.”

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

“Tifa, I think we should talk.”

 

The barmaid looked at her friend without surprise and nodded slowly, stepping aside for Cloud to walk through the doorway of the suite she was staying in.  He sat down at the little table in the main room and she got a couple of cans of soda out of the fridge before joining him.

 

_~I think I know what he’s about to say.  I’ve seen it coming for a while now and with Zackary in his life, it’s probably time for both of us to stop procrastinating.~_

Cloud thanked her for the drink and pulled the tab, looking at her uncertainly as he took a sip.  He wasn’t sure how to start.  He hadn’t even really discussed his idea with Zack or Reno yet and there was still the matter of explaining things to Denzel and Marlene.

 

“I know we said we’d try to build a family,” Cloud began.  He squirmed uncomfortably and lowered his eyes.  “The thing is, back then were both single and it wasn’t awkward to live together but now…well, you know what a weird relationship I’m in.”

 

“You want to get your own place,” Tifa said with a little smile.  “Relax, Cloud.  I’ve been prepared for this for a long time.  I’m glad you waited for Denzel to get older before doing this and Marlene isn’t really ours in the first place.  Just promise me you won’t drop out of our lives.  The kids love you and so do I.  You know that, right?”

 

Cloud nodded and smiled a little.  “I know.  Thanks for being so understanding about this…I was kind of worried.  I was thinking we could take turns with Denzel, sort of like joint custody but without all the screaming and fighting divorced couples do.”

 

Tifa laughed softly.  “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.  He can live with me for half the year and with you for the other half…and Marlene too when she’s staying, of course.”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud agreed.  “That sort of goes without saying.  So you’re really okay with this?”

 

“Of course,” Tifa said lightly.  A couple of years ago she would have felt differently, but as Cloud said; things had changed since then.  “I’ll miss you but it isn’t as though you’re around all the time anyhow.  With your delivery service and my bar, we didn’t spend a lot of time together.  The only thing that worries me is how far away you plan on moving.  Are you going to stay in edge or move here to Junon?”  She guessed he’d want to move to Junon so that he could be closer to Reno.

 

“Neither,” Cloud explained.  “Well, unless Zack has different plans.  I’m kind of tired of the city and I was  
thinking of buying a place between here and Edge, near the mountains.  I just don’t know how keen Zack’s going to be on that because I know one of the reasons he joined ShinRa was because he wanted to get away from the country.  At least, that’s what his parents told me.”

 

Tifa thought about it for a moment.  “It doesn’t sound like you’re trying to move too far away from civilization and Zack’s crazy about you.  I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about.  What are you planning to do out there, though?”

 

Cloud looked a little sheepish.  “I was thinking of raising chocobos again.  You know, with my own ranch.  I’ve got enough saved up to buy a place even if it’s not in the best shape.”

 

Tifa grinned again, feeling a surge of fondness for the blonde.  He deserved some peace and quiet after everything he’d been through and she knew that he liked taking care of chocobos and had a talent for it.  “You do realize this will lead to more ‘chocobo-head’ jokes, don’t you?”

 

Cloud grimaced.  “Yeah, I know.  I’m ready for that.  I can put up with it as long as Zack’s willing to come with me and Reno doesn’t mind being away from the city when he comes to visit.”

 

“You might get more objections out of Reno than you will out of Zack,” Tifa said dryly.  “He’s got the worst case of ‘city boy’ I’ve ever seen.”

 

“You’re not wrong about that,” agreed Cloud with a faint little smirk.  He could hear the complaints and paranoia about fleas, spiders and snakes already.  Fortunately, Reno’s sex drive was stronger than his aversion to the great outdoors so Cloud was reasonably sure he’d come around sooner or later.

 

“What about that offer that Reeve made you?” Tifa asked after a moment.  “Are you going to take it or not?”

 

Cloud hesitated.  “I’m thinking of taking it but I want to look over the details and be sure it doesn’t put me in a position of obligation.  I don’t mind volunteering but I won’t go back to being a ShinRa employee and I don’t feel right about getting paid when I’m not doing anything.  Maybe I’ll sit down with him and Rufus to talk about it before we leave Junon.”

 

~*******************************************~

* * *

 

“Come on Cissnei, keep at it!”

 

The petite brunette groaned and struggled to pull herself along the support bars while Reno stood at the other end, shouting at her like a drill sergeant.  Elena looked on with concern, noticing the flush of exertion on her friend’s face and the beads of sweat standing out.  Cissnei’s quiet, desperate sob made the blonde start toward her instinctively but Reno waved her away firmly.  Zack likewise stood close by, adding his more gentle encouragement as Cissnei struggled to work her legs.

 

“I can’t go any further,” Cissnei moaned, struggling not to collapse halfway to the end of the path.

 

“’ _Can’t_ ’ never did nothing,” Reno growled.  “Come on, girl!  Are ya gonna let them beat you?  Are you gonna let those fuckers get the best of ya?”

 

Cissnei snarled silently and she debated over whether she was more angry at Reno now than the men who had done this to her.  If for no other reason than to slap his smug, insensitive face, the young woman renewed her efforts and made her way to him one shaking step at a time.  She’d already defied the doctors’ diagnosis that she’d never stand again.  She’d come further in her recovery than anyone expected and this was the first time she’d made it this far down the therapy walk.

 

“That’s it, you’re doing it!” Zack exclaimed. 

 

His kind encouragement was a blessed contrast to Reno’s ruthlessness.  Though her goal was to reach the end of the path and give Reno a smack in the face, she put extra effort into her struggles for Zack too…and Elena, who was watching with loyal concern.  The blonde woman had become a solid presence in Cissnei’s life since the assault and she wanted to make her proud.

 

Reno was holding his arms open and gesturing the brunette closer, like a parent teaching his child to walk for the first time.  “Don’t you give up now, you’re almost there.”

 

Cissnei groaned through clenched teeth, her breath coming in harsh, tearing gasps as she closed the distance between herself and her work associate.  She finally made it to him and she collapsed against him as he caught her.

 

“Thatta girl!” Reno laughed, hugging her slight form to his chest.  “Told ya you could do it!”

 

Cissnei tilted her head back and looked up at him with an exhausted, angry expression on her youthful face.  Her hand swung weakly and connected with his cheek with a stinging smack.  Reno blinked with surprise, but it only lasted for a moment. 

 

He grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows.  “If pissing you off is the way to motivate ya, I’m not gonna stop.”

 

 “Jerk,” Cissnei panted, but a little smile cracked her angry mask like a ray of sunshine breaking through dismal clouds.  Her throat ached with a lump as she realized that she’d really doneit.  She’d walked the length of the path for the first time and as rude and hurtful as Reno’s incentive was, it had helped her do it more than anything else.

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

Rufus told his secretary that he wasn’t going to accept any further calls or visitors for the rest of the day.  He was quitting earlier than usual, but he had something to look forward to and there wasn’t anything left to do that couldn’t wait until morning.  He entered his office and closed the door behind him, locking it.  He could hear the sound of the television going in the bedroom and he smirked, imagining that even someone as stoic as Tseng was getting restless by now.  Ordinarily, the Wutaian preferred a good book to a movie but when he really needed a distraction, he chose music or TV for the noise.

 

Rufus procrastinated, despite his urge to get in that room and enjoy his subordinate’s body.  He went to his liquor cabinet and got out a couple of brandy glasses.  After pouring a drink for himself and for his captive, he walked calmly into the room and enjoyed the sight he found there. 

 

Tseng was reclined on the bed, naked except for the special harness secured around his hips, ass and pelvis, which held the cock ring circling the base of his arousal firmly in place.  The device was locked so that even if he wanted to, Tseng couldn’t remove it without the key Rufus carried on him.  It was an ingenious thing…somewhat like a chastity belt in design but entirely different in purpose.  His glossy black hair fell over his shoulders and down his chest and his pale golden skin was shining with a light sheen of perspiration.  The collar was of course in place around his neck and the chain connected to it was coiled on the floor near the side of the bed he was laying on.  There was a little black receiver box strapped to his right thigh and a wire fed from it to the vibrating bullet inside of him.  Rufus smiled deviously and approached the bed.

 

Tseng’s dark, almond-shaped eyes regarded the president calmly.  His facial expression didn’t give away the severity of his need, but he briefly moistened his lips and swallowed.  The gesture revealed more than the Turk intended and he frowned as Rufus’s conniving smirk grew more pronounced.

 

“Have some brandy,” the blonde said as he approached the bed and seated himself beside his subordinate. 

 

Tseng took the glass from Rufus with a polite nod.  Truthfully, he was thankful for the brandy.  His nerves were screaming with sensation and a drink might take the edge off before he disgraced himself and lost control of his sex drive.  The temptation to pin Rufus to the bed and have him in a way he’d never had him before was so strong it made his cock twitch.  Tseng dearly hoped his lover couldn’t read his thoughts in his expression.  Just to be safe, the Wutaian lowered his eyes as he drank from his glass, hiding the gleam of lust in them from Rufus.

 

“How is Genesis adapting to his new role, Sir?” Tseng inquired softly.  Only years of discipline allowed him to speak in such a level tone.

 

“Surprisingly well, actually.”  Rufus looked thoughtful as he sipped his drink.  “Perhaps Genesis isn’t quite as unhinged as I thought.  I really had my doubts that he could stay focused enough to take on the responsibility.”

 

“I believe Genesis suffers more from a case of eccentricity than true madness, Sir.”  Tseng looked down the length of his nude body and sighed at the sight of his restrained, aching prick.  “I really don’t think we have room to talk, when it comes to sane behavior.”

 

Rufus coughed a little, nearly inhaling the mouthful of brandy he’d just put in his mouth.  He hastily swallowed it and reached out to stroke Tseng’s raven hair, unable to help the twinge warmth and fondness he felt for the other man. 

 

“Fair enough,” Rufus murmured with a crooked smile.  He took his hand away and reached into his blazer, searching until he found the little key ring containing the keys to all of his cuffs and the little padlock that secured Tseng’s harness to his body.  The Wutaian finished the rest of his brandy in one swallow—which implied that he was more impatient than he let on. 

 

The blonde produced the key ring and stared levelly into Tseng’s eyes.  “If you perform to my satisfaction, I’ll release you from the harness.”  He slowly put the keys back into his pocket and reached out to the nightstand by his side of the bed for the lubricant sitting there.  “You know Tseng, ever since Reno mentioned going ‘bareback’, I’ve been curious about it.  He’s right about one thing…everyone we’re all currently sleeping with is clean.  Is there truly a need for condoms with one another?”

 

“Only for hygienic purposes, Sir,” the Turk leader agreed softly, his breath catching a little as Rufus put the tube of lubricant on the bed next to him.  A seme could risk getting an infection from anal intercourse, which was one reason why Tseng continued using condoms even when he knew there wasn’t a danger of disease.

 

“Would you object to trying it out?” Rufus questioned.  Despite his authority over the Turk and the reason Tseng was in his current predicament, there were boundaries of consent that Rufus wouldn’t cross.  The closest he’d ever come to forcing anyone was Cloud and he still regretted that deep down, to this day.

 

“I have no objections to that,” agreed Tseng, his voice tightening as his libido throbbed.  “If you feel safe exposing yourself to me that way, I’m willing.”

 

Rufus smirked.  “You’re the most fastidiously clean individual I’ve ever met.  I can’t think of anyone I’d feel more comfortable ‘exposing myself’ to for the first time.”

 

Tseng returned his smirk, pleased that Rufus had understood what he meant and wasn’t turned off by the reality of it.  He hoped that this meant the blonde was starting to forgive him.  He wanted him so badly and the humming against his prostate only made it worse.  Tseng forcibly reminded himself that he was already in deep enough trouble for disrespecting his lover.  Jumping his bones and trying to top him for the first time was not a good idea right now.  Perhaps when his punishment was over, he could coax Rufus into bottoming for him.

 

 He reigned in his aggression as the president began to kiss him, parting his lips to allow the other man’s tongue entry to his mouth.  He couldn’t hold back a soft moan of need when the warm, slick muscle pushed in to caress his.  If he were Reno, Rufus would probably be flat on his back by now whether he liked it or not.  It was difficult to contain his lust as the blonde fondled his nipples one at a time and dragged his mouth away to kiss his neck. 

 

Tseng combed his fingers through the ash-blond strands of Rufus’s hair, remembering the rule about touching him too intimately before being given permission in this sort of themed encounter.  His breath caught as the exploring lips moved down to his chest and the clever tongue flicked out and stroked one of his nipples. 

 

Not for the first time, Tseng noticed that Rufus’s tongue was a bit rougher than it used to be.  It wasn’t as course as a cat’s but the surface texture had roughened just enough for it to be more stimulating than usual when it licked against his skin.  The Turk took a deep breath and fought the urge to squirm with impatience as Rufus traced his ribs with a whisper-soft caress of his fingertips. 

 

Something soft-furred and heavy bumped against Tseng’s calf as the president steadily kissed his way down his body and the Turk noted with faint amusement that it was Rufus’s tail.  The appendage was swishing back and forth with growing force and speed as Rufus’s sexual excitement grew.  It was catching on the long coat that the president wore to conceal it and Tseng obligingly lifted the material and pulled it up on Rufus’s back so that it wouldn’t be in the way anymore.  An unconscious purr from the blonde was his reward for the gesture and Tseng doubted that his lover even realized he’d made the sound.

 

“May I help you out of these clothes, Sir?” Tseng asked breathlessly. 

 

“Not just yet,” Rufus said in a droning, lazy voice.  His breath tickled the raven-haired Turk’s skin as it caressed the spot just below his navel.

 

Tseng knew what Rufus intended to do and he bit his lip to hold back his quiet pleas.  He didn’t know if he could control himself with that tongue stroking against his cock.  He wasn’t the sort of man to beg but it was damned tempting to do it simply because he was afraid he’d lose the battle with his urges.  When Rufus’s lips encircled the head of his erection Tseng hissed softly.  The tongue stroked against the sensitive hole in the tip, licking away the precum dribbling from it.  The rough texture nearly made the Wutaian jump from the sensation.  Tseng tossed his head and gasped the president’s name.  His hands clenched into desperate fists at his sides and for a moment, Tseng forgot how to breathe. 

 

“Rufus,” the Turk gasped softly, “I don’t know that you should do that.”

 

The blonde turned his head at an angle and glared at him, reminding him that he was in no position to make demands…no matter how politely he uttered them.  As punishment, Rufus pressed a canine tooth against the tiny hole in the tip of Tseng’s cock, making another shock of sensation jolt through the organ.  Tseng cried out before he could stop himself and his cock twitched violently in the president’s mouth.  Rufus lowered his mouth over the pulsing shaft, taking it down his throat with practiced ease.  He held it there for a few moments, enjoying the way it bucked helplessly in his mouth and throat.  He swallowed to massage it and Tseng blurted a rare whimper.

 

~It’s not as easy to drag those sounds from your throat, as it is to provoke them from Reno.  You aren’t quite the master of control you like to think of yourself as, are you Tseng?~

Of course, the vibrating bullet up his ass and the fact that he’d had an unrelieved hard-on for hours did play a factor in the provocation of those delicious sounds.  Rufus didn’t fool himself into thinking he could have made Tseng moan like that under normal circumstances.  He began to purr with satisfaction and he didn’t realize he was doing it until the sound reached his ears.  He almost stopped but the shuddering gasp that exploded from Tseng’s lips convinced him to continue doing it.  It was easy…as easy as breathing. 

 

Tseng began to tremble and pant harder and faster.  Rufus wasn’t aware that the texture of his tongue had changed as well and he got another surprise reaction from Tseng as he drew back and licked the underside of his captive’s dick as he let it slowly slide out of his mouth.  Tseng cried out, practically shouting his name with desperation Rufus had never heard from him before.  It only served to encourage the president’s actions and he began to take the Wutaian’s twitching length in and out of his sucking mouth in a steady, even rhythm, purring all the while.

 

Tseng entered a sexual delirium and began swearing in his mother tongue as the combination of old and new oral skills drove him closer and closer to the edge of control.  He clenched his teeth and looked down at the blond head bobbing steadily over his pelvis, his black eyes narrowing with aggressive lust. 

 

“Mougamandekinai,” Tseng snarled in Wutaianese.  He slid his fingers into Rufus’s hair and curled them, roughly grabbing two handfuls and forcing the president’s mouth away from his tortured cock. 

 

Rufus was taken by surprise and he’d been so focused on what he was doing that Tseng’s actions didn’t fully register in his mind until he found himself flipped onto his back and covered by the Turk’s hard, graceful body. 

 

“Tseng, have you lost your—mph!”  The blonde’s exclamation of surprise was cut off by a savage kiss. 

 

Tseng’s teeth scraped against Rufus’s and his hips grinded roughly between the blonde’s thighs.  He’d never pushed the Turk leader this far before—Tseng had never earned the punishment before.  Rufus had always known there was a hidden aggression within the man.  He was given further proof of that when Tseng caught both his wrists and pinned them over his head, holding them there with one long-fingered hand while working at his clothes with the other one.  His mouth never released Rufus’s as he deftly flicked open the buttons of his shirt and proceeded to the next layer.

 

Rufus was used to Tseng working quickly but he swore nobody had ever undressed him this fast before.  Just as his wits returned enough for him to struggle against the Turk’s hold on him, his chest was already bared and his pants were open.  Rufus was caught between indignation and burning arousal.  Tseng had always been one to temper his passion and there was something unbearably hot about him being so aroused that he was driven to such angry aggression.  Rufus was used to Reno getting worked up to the point of mauling him but this was a first from Tseng.

 

Rufus was too intrigued by the way the encounter was going to struggle with full strength.  He subtly helped his lover get his clothing off, staging an effort to buck the Wutaian off of him in a way that lifted his hips and allowed Tseng yank his pants down over them.  Rufus grunted and swore convincingly enough but he ignored the instincts that told him how to slip out of his companion’s hold.  The chain connected to Tseng’s collar was cool against the president’s skin as it brushed against his ribs.  It was an interesting sensation and the blonde instinctively rubbed his exposed sex against Tseng’s as his arousal grew by the minute.

 

He was taken by surprise again when Tseng deftly rolled him onto his stomach and clamped a firm hand down on the back of his neck when he tried to rise.  He yanked the blonde’s pants the rest of the way off roughly and tossed them to the floor while he had him off guard.  It was then that Rufus understood that Tseng didn’t intend to ride his cock.  The Turk wanted to top him.  His first instinct as a man that was used to taking the seme role was of course to put a stop to this.  Rufus opened his mouth to issue the order for Tseng to stop, but something made him hesitate. 

 

_~I’ve let Rude top me.  I’ve let Cloud do it as well…if you can really call what happened between he and I that time “letting” him.  I let Reno take the reins when he’s this excited, though he’s never tried to put me in an uke role before.  I’ve known Tseng longer than all of them and this is the first time he’s ever crossed his boundaries with me.~_

The unbidden realization that he hadn’t really been fair to Tseng over the years struck Rufus like a lightning bolt.  He’d never asked what he wanted and he just took it for granted that the Wutaian would quietly do what he was told, like a faithful hound.  While the realization didn’t make Rufus feel guilty—he rarely experienced _that_ particular emotion—it did make him feel more charitable and understanding of his subordinate’s aggression and apparent need.  Rufus stopped himself before he uttered the word “no”, because he knew in his heart that if he said the simple word out loud, Tseng would immediately stop no matter how desperate with lust he was.

 

Instead, Rufus made himself stop straining against his lover’s hold and he spoke calmly and softly.  “Is this what you really want?”

 

The question broke through Tseng’s carnal haze and reached him.  He stopped, horrified with the realization of what he’d been ready to do.  It wasn’t exactly rape but he wasn’t truly giving his boss a chance to stop him, either.  The Turk stopped holding his lover down and he bowed his head, resting it against the president’s back as he shook it slowly.

 

“Not like this,” Tseng murmured.  “Not through anger or force, Koibito.”

 

Rufus reached into his disheveled blazer and searched his pockets for the remote he kept in there.  When he found it, he switched it to the “off” position to stop the vibrations of the bullet inside of Tseng.  He rolled onto his back and looked up at the Turk as he put his hands on Tseng’s waist.  “That wasn’t quite what I meant.  You realize of course that with my new abilities, I could have broken free of you at any moment?”

 

No, Tseng hadn’t realized that.  The caveman urges that had taken him over had prevented rational thought and logic, so it hadn’t even crossed his mind that his martial skills might not prove to be undefeated against Rufus’s enhanced, animal-like reflexes.

 

Seeing the answer to his question in the expression on his face, Rufus continued.  “How long have you wanted this, Tseng?”

 

“I’m not certain, Sir,” answered the black-haired man truthfully.  He enjoyed taking both roles in the bedroom but with Rufus, he’d always been the receiver and despite the occasional fantasy, it hadn’t consciously occurred to Tseng to attempt to dominate him.  Rufus was his boss and the thought of taking him that way just never fully manifested in Tseng’s mind until today.

 

Rufus seemed to understand on some level.  He didn’t press him further with questions and his gray eyes held his steadily as he again reached for his little remote and turned it on the lowest setting, making Tseng want to squirm restlessly as the vibration resumed inside of him.

 

“What are you waiting for, then?” Rufus purred, not moving from his reclined position on his back.  “Do your worst, Tseng.  Or rather, your best.  I suspect I won’t be disappointed.”

 

 Tseng wasn’t the sort of man to give into uncertainty but the near-challenge in Rufus’s eyes gave him pause.  Was he testing him or was he sincere?  With strategic caution, Tseng lowered his mouth to the blonde’s and kissed him.  He started out slow, determined not to make a mistake even though the lust burning in his veins was maddening.  When Rufus parted his lips, the Turk accepted the invitation and thrust his tongue in with increased confidence.  When Rufus responded to the caress of his tongue without trying to assert dominance over it, Tseng took it as a signal and he reached for the lube lying nearby. 

 

He was faintly glad that Rufus wanted to try going without condoms this time.  It was one less thing to worry about.  The Wutaian worked as quickly as he dared, not bothering to remove the shirt, protect vest and blazer still clothing the president’s upper body.  The pants were off and the upper layer of clothes was hanging open, which was good enough to satisfy Tseng.  He broke the kiss and gazed down at Rufus as he lubricated his fingers and started to lift one of the blonde’s legs to set it on his shoulder in order to expose him better.  It was then that Tseng spotted that cougar tail of his lover’s, lying out to the left of Rufus’s body and swishing with anticipation against the surface of the mattress.  Inspiration struck Tseng.

 

_~I can make this the best uke experience he’s had so far if I position him so that the tail is more accessible to my touch.~_

 Rufus was only a little surprised when his lover rolled him onto his stomach again.  Since he’d already agreed to let Tseng have his way, he didn’t fight him.  He heard the Wutaian’s breath huff and he smirked with the knowledge that he was trying to warm the lube on his fingers before preparing him.  Always courteous and respectful, this one…even when he was half mad with lust.  As added incentive, Rufus lifted his hips a little to raise his ass encouragingly and his tail instinctively lifted to expose the cleft between his buttocks.  He heard a swiftly indrawn breath and his smirk grew into a conniving smile with the certainty that his actions enticed Tseng.

 

It took a moment for the Turk to act.  He didn’t take the time often enough to admire how nicely shaped Rufus’s ass was and the president’s action reminded him of that fact.  He stared at the rounded cheeks and the oddly sensual way the tawny, furred appendage was raised and laying to the left side in a silent invitation.  He didn’t know if the action was intentional or purely instinctive but it was such a hot sight that it made his cock throb with angry need.

 

_~He knows what he’s doing to me, I’m certain of it.  I’ve known Rufus Shinra for too long to believe he does anything out of innocence or ignorance.~_

Tseng bit his lip almost hard enough to break the skin as his body approached another orgasm that wouldn’t finish until his lover removed the cock ring.  The humming against his prostate made it very difficult to concentrate as he began to prepare Rufus and so far, the blonde hadn’t given any sign that he intended to unlock the harness and free his sex from the restraining ring hugging the base of it.  Tseng accepted this with customary stoicism, thankful that Rufus was allowing him to take him even if he wasn’t going to achieve full release from the act.

 

Rufus lazed on his stomach, loosening the muscles in his sphincter as much as he could when he felt Tseng’s slick finger stroke it.  The Wutaian was good; he didn’t push in right away but instead he rubbed in gentle circles until it was relaxed enough to allow easy penetration.  A low sound of discomfort emitted from his throat when the finger breached him, but it soon turned into a rumbling purr when it eased further in and located his prostate.

 

Tseng broke into a sweat as he rubbed the gland inside of his lover and listened to the sounds Rufus made as a result.  He murmured a faint praise to Leviathan for granting him the restraint not to mount his boss then and there.  The deep, resonating purr was exotic and ultimately sensual as he slowly pumped and stroked inside.  The clenching around his finger eased and he allowed the second one to join the first.  Rufus voiced a hybrid groan/purr and raised his ass a little more.  His fingers opened and closed over the bedding, grabbing and releasing it as if kneading the material.

 

Tseng murmured husky endearments in the language of his homeland, telling Rufus how beautiful and sensual he was.  The president was familiar enough with the Wutaian tongue to understand some of it and ordinarily, he would have balked a little at being referred to in such a way.  He’d said similar things before to his lovers when claiming them but he thought that hearing the same said of him would make him feel emasculated.  Oddly enough, it didn’t.  Tseng didn’t say it in a way that compared him to a female.  The tone of his voice and the inflection of his words assured Rufus that the Turk thought he was beautiful in an entirely masculine way.

 

By the time he was exercised enough, Rufus was breathing heavily and pushing back against Tseng’s fingers without even realizing he was doing it.  He felt strangely empty when the other man withdrew his fingers but it only lasted long enough for Tseng to guide him to his hands and knees and position himself.  The blonde groaned his subordinate’s name as Tseng’s length drove into him.  It eased in and kept going until it was fully inside.  Rufus was used to being breached a little bit at a time, but Rude was exceptional in size so it was rather necessary for him to take it slow.  Tseng was impressive but not huge.  The blonde felt his body clenching involuntarily around the invading hardness and he steeled his jaw and forced himself to relax and accept it.

 

Tseng intended to wait for a little while once he was fully inside of his lover but it felt so _good_ and he’d been driven to the brink of control.  He groaned the blonde’s name heavily and began to pump his hips as soon as he’d breached him completely.  Rufus grunted with discomfort but he didn’t tell him to stop—which was a good thing because Tseng honestly wasn’t sure he could comply if he did.

 

Rufus grabbed hold of the edge of the mattress and clamped his lips together tightly to stop the moans that threatened to break free.  Tseng’s hard length shoved back and forth inside of him roughly.  The rhythm was uneven and difficult to get used to but the sounds of pleasure issuing from the Turk’s mouth was rewarding enough for Rufus to endure it.  After a few moments, Tseng seemed to realize that he was creating more pain than pleasure for the blonde and he slowed down and embraced Rufus around the waist, resting his cheek against his back.

 

“Forgive me,” the Turk gasped, his hands stroking the other man’s tense abdomen with loving care.  “I lost my senses.”  He shifted carefully and changed the angle of his thrusts, easing into the tight heat more slowly while watching and listening.

 

A swift moan broke past Rufus’s lips as the other man’s cock stroked firmly against his prostate, making a throb of pleasure spear through his pelvis and spine.  Tseng withdrew and did it again, a little harder.  Rufus’s breath caught and he pushed back instinctively for more.  One of the hands stroking his belly slid down and grasped his erection, while the other moved around to his back and down. 

 

“W-wait,” Rufus grunted as the talented, deft fingers began to stimulate that spot near the base of his tail.  He flushed with both pleasure and humiliation as his ass wriggled of its own accord.  “That isn’t necessary,” he finished breathlessly.

 

“Do you really want me to stop?” 

 

The breathless, silken voice was faintly amused and the teasing fingertips scratched more firmly, while the hand gripping his cock began to stroke up and down the length of it with steady, sure motions.  Rufus felt like he was melting under the touch.  He bowed his head and panted, unable to bring himself to answer the question truthfully.  Tseng must have sensed that he didn’t really want him to stop, for the Wutaian continued fucking him at that steadied pace, keeping the angle locked in so that he was massaging the blonde inside just right with each thrust.

 

How the man had managed to regain this level of control was a mystery to Rufus.  He was sure that he’d finally broken Tseng’s control but somehow, the blasted man had snatched it back.  Now he was demonstrating it thoroughly and Rufus was hard-pressed not to start hollering his name.  The blending of sensations from being fucked, having his cock stroked and having the erotic zone on his tail pleasured was quickly drowning coherent thought from his mind.  He felt Tseng’s hardness twitching inside of him but the restriction ring at the base of it prevented ejaculation.  He heard the Wutaian grunting softly with pleasure and desperation, but the thrusts didn’t slow or stop.

 

Tseng nearly lost control again as his climax approached and stopped just at the edge of release.  He bit back a groan of frustration and kept rocking against his lover.  It was very difficult to control the motions of his hips with the evil little bullet vibrating inside of him.  He wanted to pound into Rufus like a madman or wiggle his hips like Reno did when he was tickled or goosed.  It was quickly becoming unbearable and he muttered a curse of relief when Rufus blurted a telling, rough moan and began to tense up.

 

Tseng jacked his lover off hard and fast, desperate to make him come so that he could perhaps get his own relief as well.  Rufus growled and shoved backwards against him, driving him deeper into his body as his peak struck him.  The president’s sex bucked in Tseng’s gripping hand and since Rufus hadn’t consciously been trying to put himself in a tantric state, he spurted his seed unevenly all over the bedding. 

 

“Tseng,” Rufus groaned, his strength bleeding out of him with his spunk.  His arms trembled with the effort to hold his weight and he was tempted to just collapse in place, regardless of the wet spot he’d be falling onto.

 

Tseng felt his companion’s body trembling and he eased out of his snug passage and supported him around the waist, guiding Rufus onto his side away from the mess he’d made on the sheets.  He was sweating panting with need, still hard as a rock, but he embraced his lover and kissed his perspiring temple softly.

 

“Did I satisfy you, Koibito?” Tseng whispered, nibbling the blonde’s ear.

 

“Absolutely,” Rufus admitted. 

 

He shifted in the Wutaian’s embrace and reached into his pockets for two items.  First, he located the remote and he turned off the vibrator still inside of Tseng.  Once he’d done that, he located the key to the harness securing the cock strap in place.  Still boneless and clumsy from his orgasm, the president held out the key for his subordinate.

 

“As soon as I recover,” Rufus panted, “I’ll return the favor.  You’ve earned it.”

 

Tseng chuckled breathlessly and took the key with eager hands.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

_*A couple of days later…*_

 

“Ow, Tifa!  When I said I wanted to earn some scars again, I didn’t mean by getting poked with scissors!”  Zack jerked away and leaned back in the chair he sat on, putting a hand over his cheekbone.

 

Tifa huffed and pulled the scissors away from Zack’s damp hair, placing her hands on her hips.  “If you’d hold _still_ I wouldn’t poke you!”

 

“You didn’t poke me the last time you trimmed it for me,” Zack reminded as he rubbed the spot by his temple where she’d accidentally jabbed him.

 

“You weren’t trying to watch a ball game the last time,” she huffed.  “Now quit leaning over while I’m trying to straighten your bangs out, you big puppy.  Cloud and Reno can tell you what’s happening.”

 

“I’m never going to escape that nickname,” Zack grumbled. 

 

He heard the crowd on TV cheer again and he squirmed a little, trying to resist the urge to lean around Tifa’s body to look at the screen.  She’d come to his and Cloud’s suite at his request to trim his hair but her timing was bad.  His favorite team was playing and he was missing all the action now.  “Hey Cloud, what just happened?”

 

Cloud glanced up from the cards he held in his hand and looked at the TV.  “One of your guys struck out.”

 

Zack cursed and Reno twisted around in his seat to look at the television.  “No, that was one of the other guys.  They switched sides while you and Tifa were arguing, Wolfy.”

 

Cloud shrugged.  He didn’t care much for baseball so he wasn’t really paying attention.  “Okay, so one of the other guys struck out.  Big deal.”

 

“Hey, that’s my favorite team, kiddo,” Zack said with mock anger.  “You ought to be more supportive.”

 

Cloud waved a hand half-heartedly in the air, his blue eyes focusing back on the cards he held in his other hand.  “Whoo-hoo.  Go team.  Happy?”

 

Zack grinned at him.  “Wow.  Careful there, cornflower…you might hurt yourself with all that enthusiasm.”

 

“Zack, I swear if you don’t hold still I’m just going to shave you bald,” Tifa threatened.

 

Zack flinched.  “Yes’m.  Don’t get a rolled-up newspaper after me, now.”

 

Reno snickered and laid a card down, shaking his head.  “For a guy that complains when he gets compared to a puppy, ya sure like to lay it on thick with the metaphors, Fair.”

 

Zack chuckled but held still when he saw the dead-serious look in Tifa’s dark eyes.  “I guess I’m just getting used to it.”  He squeezed his eyes shut when the scissors approached again.

 

Tifa sighed, but she was smiling as she ran the comb through another lock of thick black hair to straighten it out.  “I’m not going to poke you again, Zack.”  She smoothed the hair between her first and second finger of her left hand and snipped the ends with the scissors.

 

Reno glanced over at them and for the first time, he noticed a faint shadow on Zack’s jaw.  Zack and Tifa had already gotten started on his hair when Reno came to visit so he hadn’t gotten a good look at the fighter before, but the noon light coming in from the window brightened up the room and now he saw what he’d missed.  The redhead stared and frowned, tilting his head a little.

 

“Uh, Reno…you’re showing me your cards,” Cloud warned, looking away honorably as the distracted Turk absently tilted his hand enough for the blonde to see what he was holding if he wanted to.

 

“Oh, right,” Reno muttered.  “Hold up, Blondie.  I think my eyes are playing tricks on me.”  He turned the cards over and placed them face-down on the table before getting out of his chair and crossing the room, leaving Cloud staring after him in bemusement.

 

“What’s up?” Zack inquired, watching Reno sidelong as he approached.  He didn’t dare move or turn his head, fearful of what Tifa would do to him if he did.

 

Reno peered closely at Zack’s handsome profile with narrowed, blue-green eyes.  When he realized what the “shadow” he was seeing actually was, his eyebrows shot up.  “You’ve got stubble.”

 

Cloud looked utterly stupefied by the comment and he stared at the Turk and tried to think of something to say in response to his odd reaction to the sight of the facial hair.

 

Zack self-consciously reached up and ran his fingers over his jaw.  “Uh, yeah.  I need to shave.  I got kind of hung up on the game and put it off.”

 

“But…you’ve got stubble!” Reno repeated. 

 

Tifa drew back and looked at Reno with a puzzled expression, while Zack blushed faintly and misunderstood the Turk’s reaction. 

 

“Look, I’m not a slob,” Zack said defensively, thinking that Reno’s reaction was provoked by distaste.

 

Reno’s eyes met his blankly.  “Huh?  What’d I say that made you think I thought that, babe?”

 

Zack’s amethyst eyes blinked and he rubbed his temples.  “Okay, let’s start over.  Why is my stubble such a big deal?”

 

“Because you’re Mako enhanced,” Reno explained, crossing his arms over his chest.  “I thought the Mako stopped face hair from growing.  Hell, Cloud’s face is as smooth as a baby’s butt and I haven’t had to shave since I got dunked in that Mako stream.  Either you’re so manly the Mako can’t even stop your facial hair from growing or Cloud and I need to start buying some dresses, yo.”

 

Zack tried not to laugh but a chuckle erupted from his mouth before he could help it.  “I think I get it,” he said as he brought his mirth under control.  “Relax, Foxy.  You and Cloud don’t get stubble because your systems were _drenched_ with Mako.  First, that nutcase Hojo overloaded Cloud with it and then later on he fell right into a natural stream of it, just like you.  There’s a difference between controlled Mako treatments and experimental levels or outright drenching with the undiluted stuff.

 

“Don’t you remember my friend Angeal?” Zack continued when Reno looked a little dubious.  “The guy had a five o’clock shadow all the time and a fuzzy little goatee, and he was First Class and Mako enhanced before I even finished my training.”

 

Reno cast his mind back and brought up a mental picture of the big, rugged Soldier that had once been Zack’s friend and mentor.  “Oh yeah,” he murmured, feeling a little stupid.  “I guess my memory still has some holes in it.  I forgot all about that little detail about him until you said it.  So why haven’t I ever seen you shave before and why is this the first time I’ve seen stubble?”

 

Zack shrugged.  “Just timing, I guess.  It still grows but it’s a lot slower than normal, so I only need to shave a couple of times a week.  Angeal used to want to grow a full beard but he gave up when it wouldn’t thicken up.”  Zack smiled as he remembered his old friend’s frustration.  “He used to envy Reeve.”

 

“Hmph…wonder why the Mako poisoning only stopped our facial hair from growing,” Reno muttered with a look at Cloud. 

 

“I’m kind of glad I got to keep the hair on my head,” Cloud replied dryly.

 

Reno laughed.  “Yeah, not to mention hair in _other_ places.  At least I know it’s not suppressing the old testosterone.  That works a little too well sometimes, yo.”  He remembered Tifa and grimaced a little.  “Sorry, doll.”

 

She shrugged.  “I think I’ve been around you long enough to be used to it.”

 

Cloud decided to try and steer the conversation away from sexual subjects.  “I think it does some kind of weird exchange with our facial hair and scalp hair,” he said thoughtfully.  “The hair on my head never grew this fast before I got Mako treatments and look at how fast Zack’s hair grows now.  Yours would probably be as long as Sephiroth’s in a year if you let it go, Reno.”

 

The redhead grimaced.  “Too much to take care of, man.  I’ll keep it trimmed.”  He gave Cloud a thoughtful look.  “That’s not a bad theory though, Blondie.  I don’t have to trim my nails that much anymore, now that I think of it.  Maybe the Mako did some kind of switcharoo with the fastest growing cells or something.”

 

“I think I’d rather have regular hair growth,” Zack complained.  “At least I can shave my own face.  Poor Tifa’s going to get sick of me bugging her for haircuts after a while.”

 

“I don’t mind,” she assured him, “as long as you _hold still_ for me.”

 

Zack cleared his throat and turned his head to face her again, dutifully holding it steady so that she could continue.

 

“Well, I’m no scientist,” Reno shrugged.  He frowned, first at Zack and then at Cloud.  They would be leaving Junon soon and he wouldn’t be getting any loving from them again until he could take time off to visit Edge.  He didn’t like how depressed that made him feel.  Life was so much easier when it was just him, the boss, Rude and Tseng but he wouldn’t trade any of his lovers now for all the gil in the world.

 

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Reno said thoughtfully.  “Tomorrow’s the start of the weekend.  Why don’t we all go out to a club to celebrate making it through this Deepground shit alive?”

 

“I don’t know about that,” Cloud said softly.  He saw the way Zack’s eyes lit up though and he shrugged.  “What the hell, I guess I’m in.”

 

“Cool,” Reno said happily.  “I know Zack’s into it.  How about you, Tifa?”

 

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” she said uncertainly.  “Who else are you planning to drag along to this occasion?”

 

“Everybody I can,” Reno winked.  “Rufus might be a little tough since…uh...he doesn’t dance.”  He almost spilled the beans about the tail but he remembered at the last minute that Tifa didn’t know about that yet.  Rufus had become somewhat of a hermit since the growth of his tail and Reno hadn’t even seen much of him.  He was confident that he could convince the president to go out with them if he tried hard enough, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

 

“You guys work on Reeve and Vincent.  I’ll take care of the boss and Genesis.” Reno finished.

 

“You want to bring Genesis?” Tifa asked with faint surprise.

 

“Yeah,” Reno shrugged.  “He did his part and maybe the guy just needs to loosen up a little.”

 

_~Besides, it’d give him and Rude a chance to hang out together outside of work.~_

 

“You might have a little trouble prying Elena away from Cissnei,” warned Zack.  “You know Cissnei’s not in any condition to go out and Elena doesn’t like to leave her alone for long.”

 

“That’s where Cissnei’s gonna come in,” Reno answered smoothly.  “I know her and she wouldn’t want her gal pal missing out.” 

 

The Turk studied Zack thoughtfully and smirked.  “Hey Fair, will ya do me a favor?”

 

“Er…I’ll tell you when I hear it,” Zack replied warily.

 

“Don’t shave right away.  The stubble’s kinda sexy.”

 

Tifa focused on trimming Zack’s hair and pretended not to hear that.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 


	32. Chapter 32

“Alliance”

Chapter 32

~**********************************~

 

* * *

 

“Come on, boss.  It won’t feel right if you’re not there.  I’ve found the perfect place and ya don’t have to worry about anyone seeing your tail.”  Reno was insistent. 

 

Tseng stood beside Rufus’s office chair, fully dressed but still collared.  Ordinarily when Rufus had an appointment or visitor, the Wutaian stayed in the private bedroom until they were gone.  It wouldn’t do for his or Rufus’s reputation for outsiders to figure out what was really going on here.  Tseng glanced at Rufus silently, noting the stony expression on his face.

 

“Sir, perhaps Reno has a good point,” suggested the Turk leader respectfully.  “You’ve hardly left the office except to get things from your apartment.  It really isn’t healthy.”

 

“Just hear me out,” Reno said, encouraged by Tseng’s support.  “The place I want to take everyone is a themed club.  People dress up in costumes all the time there so if someone spots your tail, they ain’t gonna think much of it.  The last time I was there I saw a guy dressed up as a sexy bunny.”

 

Rufus quirked a brow.  “Exactly what kind of place _is_ this, Reno?  I don’t know that some of the people you want to bring would be into open sex.”

 

“Relax,” the redhead assured, “The place is eccentric but the worst it’s got is cage dancing.  If ya try to have sex out in the open, the bouncers toss you out.  I’ve seen it happen before.  We’ll have a good time, yo.  They’ve got a pub section with pool tables and dartboards and a dance floor in the lounge, so there’s something there for everyone.  Hell, even if they just wanna kick back with some drinks and talk, they can hang in the lounge.”

 

Rufus considered it.  “This club you want to take us to wouldn’t happen to be the Shockwave, would it?”

 

Reno nodded and the president sighed.

 

“Reno, that place is elite.  On the weekends they are especially discriminating on who they let through the doors.”

 

The redhead shrugged.  “It’s not a problem, boss.  I know the owner personally and if you come too, they’re sure to let everyone in.”

 

Rufus exchanged a covertly amused look with Tseng.  “So that’s the way of it.  You want me to come so that your friends can get through the door.”

 

Reno looked properly scandalized.  “No way!  Sir, ya know I’d never use you like that.  Reeve would probably give us enough celebrity status to get the others in if ya don’t show up but you _need_ to get out.  Ya need to be seen, baby.  People are gonna start wondering if you’re still alive.  Aren’t you always saying you’ve make appearances once in a while to ensure the public everything’s okay?”

 

Rufus grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.  “I’m beginning to regret ever coming back out of the background and revealing to the world that I’m still alive.”  He looked up at Reno’s hopeful face and then he looked at Tseng, who was silent but was watching him with coaxing, dark eyes.  “Oh, very well.  I suppose it might give people a bit of amusement if they spot my tail and believe I’ve dressed in costume to mingle.”

 

Reno perked up like a fox kit.  “Hey, I could pick you up a costume to go with it if ya want,” he said without thinking, “You could wear a pare of ears and some tiger-striped spandex…. er…nah…you wouldn’t go for that.”  He winced as Rufus glared at him.  He was lucky the president was even agreeing to come…no sense in pushing his luck further.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

As Reno exited the president’s office and started down the hall to the elevator, he pulled out a little pad of paper and a pen.  He scratched a line through Rufus and Tseng’s name with a grin.  He’d already talked to Cissnei about convincing Elena to go so that only left Genesis for him to convince.  Whistling a little, he got into the elevator and replaced the pad to pull out his cellphone and dial Cloud. 

 

“Yo, it’s me,” the Turk said when his lover answered the phone.  “We’ve got a puma in the mix now.  How are you doing with the toymaker and the vampire?”

 

“Vincent’s not a…oh, forget it,” Cloud muttered.  “I convinced Reeve but he’s going to have to work on Vincent a little.  Apparently the last time they went to a club Reeve got attacked and Vincent’s not very keen on risking a repeat of it.”

 

“Wow, the guy keeps a pretty tight leash on Tuesti,” Reno snickered softly. 

 

“He just wants to keep him safe,” Cloud defended.  “I think Reeve can wear him down though.  So who’s left?”

 

“Just Genesis, if Cissnei works her magic on Elena.  He outta be getting back from the training compound pretty soon so I’m heading to the suite wing to catch him before he goes to his room.”

 

“Good luck,” Cloud said.  He didn’t sound very confident that Reno could pull it off.

 

“I’ll tell him Rude’s gonna be there,” the redhead chuckled.  “That ought to be enough incentive for him.”

 

“Maybe he doesn’t like him as much as you think he does,” suggested the blonde.

 

“Baby, you keep underestimating my ability to smell sexual tension from clear across a room.  I’m not wrong.”

 

“Okay, if you say so,” Cloud conceded.  “I just know how much you want Rude to get what he wants.”

 

“I know I’m not imagining it.  I’ll see ya soon, Blondie.”  Reno hung up the phone and watched the digital numbers overhead as the elevator descended to the floor he was after.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

The elevator stopped at the recreational floor and Reno was delighted when the doors slid open to admit his partner.  Rude smelled like he’d just taken a shower as he stepped into the elevator and gave the redhead a quiet smile.

 

“Hey big guy,” Reno greeted as Rude pressed the garage floor button.  “I just left the boss man’s office.  I convinced him and Tseng to go with us tonight.”

 

Rude nodded.  Reno had called him over an hour ago and invited him out.  “I was just heading home to get ready.”  He noticed the other button lit up and he swallowed, knowing that Genesis was staying on the same floor as Cloud and the others until he got his own place.

 

Reno saw the look, despite the bald man’s concealing shades and he smirked.  “Wanna make a quick stop on the suite floor with me?  Genesis should be coming home from the compound any minute…ya might catch him on the way to his room.”

 

“He’ll probably be tired.  I don’t wanna bother him,” Rude muttered.

 

Reno barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes in exasperation.  “Out of everyone in this fucking building, you’re probably the only person that wouldn’t ‘bother him’, partner.  Damn, can’t ya see it?  Just say ‘hi’ to the guy.  You might even wanna ask him to come with us tonight and unwind a little.”  The last was said on inspiration.  Reno was originally going to invite Genesis but he thought the other redhead would be much more inclined to go if Rude did it himself.

 

Rude’s confidence was boosted by the other man’s observations.  He decided to get off on the floor with Reno when the elevator stopped at it, but when the door slid open he saw Genesis in the hallway, fishing in his long red jacket for his keys.  Rude’s nerve began to fail him as he stared and recalled vividly the fantasy he’d had about him the other day.  Reno started forward but he noticed that Rude wasn’t coming with him and he stopped and gave the bald man an exasperated look. 

 

“Come on, man.  Go talk to him.”  Reno grabbed the bigger man’s arm and tugged.  “What are ya, twelve?”  Reno used to wonder why a sexy beast like Rude didn’t have scores of guys on the side but the truth was, he sucked at flirting.  When it came to going after what he wanted, Rude was like an adolescent boy trying to muster the nerve to ask a girl to a school dance.  It looked like he was going to need some help making moves on Genesis.

 

“He’s just a guy, like us,” reasoned the redhead in a low voice as he pushed the “hold” button to keep the doors from sliding shut.  “Sure, he’s got some special skills but in the end he’s just a human fucking being, yo.  Just invite him to come with us, big guy.”

 

“I can’t,” Rude admitted.  “I need a few more days to get this fantasy out of my head, man.”

 

Reno perked up with interest.  “Fantasy?  Come on, partner…give.  What’d you fantasize about?”

 

Rude shrugged.  “Nothing.  Forget about it.”

 

Reno glanced at Genesis and saw that he’d procured his keys and was getting ready to unlock his door.  “You don’t have much time, pal.  Tell me what it was and maybe I can help get ya past it so you can talk to him again.”

 

Rude flushed and against his better judgment, he described his brief visualization to the energetic redhead.  Reno grinned predictably at him, his sea-green eyes intrigued.  “Hmm, not bad.  I can totally see that.  But hey, it’s all in your head, partner.  Genesis can’t read minds so he’d not gonna know what you were thinking.  Now go talk to him before it’s too late!”

 

Rude allowed himself to be led into the hallway but he didn’t make a move towards Genesis.  He stood frozen by the elevator and Reno couldn’t budge him no matter how hard he pulled at his arm.  Finally, the redhead heaved a frustrated sigh and told him to wait there.

 

“Hey, Genesis,” Reno called out to Rude’s horror.  “Hold up a sec!”

 

While Rude watched helplessly, his partner hurried down the hall toward the one-winged fighter.  There was a bounce to his step and Rude knew it meant he was up to no good.  The bald man groaned silently but he was too dignified to go after Reno and try to wrestle him down.  He watched powerlessly as Genesis stopped and looked at the approaching flame-haired Turk.

 

“Is there something I can do for you?” asked Genesis as Reno closed the distance.

 

“Yeah, you can get cleaned up and meet us in the lobby at seven,” Reno said smoothly.  “We’re all heading to a club tonight.  It’s kind of a celebration for living through the fight and a send-off party for some of our buds before they go.  You’re invited, yo.”

 

Genesis wore an expression of wary interest, as though suspecting a prank.  His eyes shifted past Reno at Rude, who still stood by the elevator.  If it had been another man he might have suspected cowardice, but Genesis knew enough about the bald Turk to understand that he likely wasn’t asking because he didn’t think it was appropriate, or because he thought he would decline.

 

“Rude’s gonna be there,” Reno said in a cajoling tone when he saw the way the aqua eyes settled on his partner.  “He said you wouldn’t come.  Prove him wrong, man.”

 

Genesis smirked.  Reno was terrible at being subtle even when he was trying to be.  Clearly, the redheaded Turk saw that there was something between the two of them and for reasons Genesis couldn’t understand he was encouraging it. 

 

“I don’t know that I’ll fit in,” Genesis said, testing the waters.

 

“Then you’ll be in good company.”  Reno shrugged.  “Most of us aren’t exactly ordinary, man.  Just come with us and if ya don’t have a good time, I’ll get you a cab to bring ya back right away.  It’d make my partner happy if ya came with, you know?”

 

Genesis thought about it.  He honestly hadn’t adapted to being around people enough yet to go to a large social gathering and though he’d enjoyed going to nightclubs in his earlier SOLDIER days, he felt like he needed more time to adjust.  He was about to decline the invitation but he looked at Rude again and his pulse quickened. 

 

_~This could present an opportunity that I’ve been missing.~_

“Very well,” Genesis said to Reno, his mind made up.  “What sort of dress code should I be considering?”

 

“It’s not a black tie place,” explained the Turk.  “It’s sort of a themed place, though.  Have ya got anything in tight leather?”

 

Genesis raised a brow at him and Reno snorted, remembering who he was talking to.  “Of course ya do.  Yeah, something nice, snug and leather outta do you fine, unless you’ve got a suit you’d rather wear.”  He was taking a gamble by suggesting the latter but he really didn’t see Genesis as the suit and tie kind of guy.  His hunch turned out to be correct.

 

“I haven’t purchased a suit or tux yet, so the leather will have to do,” Genesis responded.

 

“Cool.  So we’ll see ya at seven, then.”  With a wink, Reno turned and sauntered back down the hallway to Rude. 

 

Genesis watched him with vague suspicion for a moment before letting himself into his suite.  If Reno had an ulterior motive for all this beyond trying to set him and Rude up, the fighter couldn’t imagine what it was.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Rufus and Tseng arrived in the lobby at precisely seven o’clock.  They both stopped at the sight of Reno.  The redheaded Turk was wearing an outfit composed of red, snakeskin-patterned leather pants, black boots, a clingy red and black mesh shirt with the likeliness of black flames across the chest and a metal-studded belt with a skull on the buckle.  Completing the ensemble was a pair of costume horns in place of his usual goggles and a forked tail poking out the back of the pants.

 

“Oddly appropriate,” Tseng complimented, his dark eyes sweeping Reno’s form.  “What inspired this?”

 

“Thought I’d try going in costume for once,” Reno smirked.  He looked at Rufus and winked.  “I figured it might loosen some folks up a little, yo.”

 

“What costume?” Rufus said with dry humor.  His gray eyes were appreciative as they took in the details of Reno’s outfit, however.  He looked at the others and he thought they looked quite tasty as well, though much more conservative than Reno.  Cloud was wearing a new pair of stonewashed jeans with black oxford shoes and a snug indigo long-sleeved turtleneck shirt.  The simple combination was flattering on him, somewhere between casual and dressy.  Beside him, his dark counterpart Zackary looked like a rockstar in black leather pants, boots and a deep purple, v-neck muscle shirt.   

 

“I picked out there outfits too,” Reno said proudly, his eyes scanning his two companions with leisurely appreciation.  “Zack’s getup even has slits in the back for his wings if I can convince him to let ‘em out.”

 

“I feel self-conscious enough already,” the black-haired man muttered.  He scratched at the stubble on his jaw.  It itched a little but he’d promised Reno he wouldn’t shave it off for a couple of days.  People stared at him as they passed by and one woman actually tripped over her own feet and spilled the documents she was carrying.  Zack hastily went to her side and helped her gather them up, ever chivalrous despite the fact that she’d been eye-humping him a moment ago.

 

Tifa put a hand over her mouth to hide her chuckle.  Horn dog that Zack was, he evidently didn’t fully realize his own charm…which was part of what made him so appealing to people.  She stood by Elena in a pair of loose-bottom hip-hugger tan pants, strappy sandals and a black halter-top.  Elena wore a white mini-skirt with matching pumps and a pale blue, satin halter-top.  The blonde looked just as amused at Zack’s expense as Tifa.  Rude stood silently beside both women, dressed in a sharp designer suit, of course.  While the bald man tended not to vary his style, his choice of fashion was very becoming on him.

 

“We’re dressed to kill, so to speak,” Rufus murmured with a glance around.  “Are we all here?”  He himself had deviated a bit from his usual colors.  He wore a pair of black tailored pants with white dress shoes, a long black jacket to conceal his tail and a white silk button-up shirt underneath it.  In tasteful contrast, Tseng wore white pants, black shoes and a black, short-sleeved shirt.  A pendant with a silver crane hung around the Wutaian’s neck and his raven hair was brushed and unbound, falling in a shiny curtain down his back and shoulders.

 

“We’re still waiting on Reeve, Vincent and Genesis,” Cloud said.

 

Rufus recalled Reno saying something about inviting Genesis along but he honestly didn’t expect the former First to join them.  As for Reeve, he and Vincent were probably late because of last minute arguing.  Valentine hated crowds and he disliked the thought of Reeve exposing himself to them even more since the engineer had become such a political figure.

 

“I fear if we wait for Genesis, we may be waiting all night long,” Rufus murmured.  “As for Reeve, he’s—”

 

“He’s right behind you,” Reeve Tuesti finished in good humor as he and Vincent approached.

 

Reno wasn’t the only one to give the couple an appreciative look.  Reeve wore a pair of navy blue pants and a matching blazer..  His undershirt was solid black.  Beside him Vincent was out of his usual body armor and cape, dressed instead in a burgundy button-up shirt, snug black pants and thigh-high black boots.  His hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail in the back, while the top was free to tumble over his forehead and frame his face.  He was exotic looking and very eye-catching in his semi-period clothing.  If it weren’t for the metal claw he would have looked like he came out of a pirate romance novel.

 

“Uh, Elena…a little drool,” Tifa whispered to the blonde Turk, who was trying her best to devour Vincent with her eyes without making it obvious.

 

Elena nudged the brunette and blushed.  “I’m not _that_ bad…yet.”  Being surrounded by sexy, sharp-dressed men was a thrill but the fact that not a single one of them were available was kind of depressing.  She smirked at Tifa when she noticed the barmaid eying the guys covertly too.  “Hypocrite,” she whispered.

 

“I’m afraid we may have to leave without Genesis,” Tseng announced with a glance at his watch. 

 

“Give the guy five more minutes,” Reno suggested.  If Genesis went with his suggestion, he was probably still trying to pour himself into his outfit.  Reno smirked sidelong at Rude and wondered how he would react if the fighter showed up in the clothes he was imagining.  He’d almost asked Genesis if he happened to have a whip to go with the outfit but he’d restrained himself, guessing that if he did that it might convince the fighter to decline the invitation after all.

 

They waited for another five minutes in concordance to Reno’s request and the redhead was beginning to wonder if Genesis had chickened out.  He sighed softly with disappointment.  While he hadn’t exactly arranged a date between his partner and the other redhead, he was starting to feel stood up.  Just as he was on the verge of muttering a curse and giving up, the elevator chimed and he turned to look with the others as the door opened. 

 

Genesis strode out of the elevator into the lobby and Reno felt like cackling with delight.  The fighter was dressed pretty close to how he’d imagined and he guessed that the patent leather pants he was wearing must be stretchy for him to be able to move so gracefully in them.  Best of all, they were blood red in color and he wore knee-high, thick-heeled laced black boots with them.  He wore a long sleeved black mesh shirt under a patent leather vest that matched his pants.

 

“Poor Rude,” Cloud muttered softly as he stared at Genesis.  He glanced at the bald Turk and thought the man had stopped breathing for a moment—he was so utterly still.  At least he wasn’t gurgling the way poor Reeve had that time Vincent disguised himself in a chauffeur uniform.

 

“Apologies for my tardiness,” Genesis said as he approached.  “My keys tend to get away from me now and then and I had to conduct a minor search before going out the door.”  He walked straight up to Rude, though he’d addressed them all.  He caught sight of Reno and he studied him with a slight frown.  “Are we going to a club or a costume party?”

 

“Oh, it’s a club,” Reno assured him.  “Costumes are allowed though and I’ve always wanted to give it a shot, yo.” 

 

_~And maybe the boss won’t feel so self-conscious if someone else in the group has a tail too.~_

~************************************~

* * *

 

Rufus insisted on everyone arriving in style, so they took two limos to the club despite Reeve’s protests that it was entirely un-necessary.  The WRO leader looked embarrassed when they arrived at the club and people stared as the driver opened the doors to let them out of the vehicles.  Reno took the lead and the others followed behind him to get in line, some eagerly and others with growing reluctance.  The redhead didn’t seem to mind it when a he got a couple of stares for his getup.  The curious looks didn’t linger, for as he’d explained to his companions the Shockwave often got patronage dressed in costumes.  In fact, there was a woman at the front of the line wearing a pair of big, feathery black wings.

 

Reno nudged Zack with amusement as he jerked his chin at the woman in the fake angel wings.  “See?  She’s got a pair.  Why don’t you and Gen let yours out?”

 

“I think people might notice if I suddenly sprout a giant pair of wings,” the fighter muttered out the corner of his mouth, his cheeks flushing a bit.

 

Cloud looked at the building with a frown.  “I know this place,” he mumbled.

 

“Ya should,” Reno confirmed with a laugh.  “This is where we had our first kiss, Blondie.”

 

Cloud shut his eyes and wished he hadn’t said anything as the others looked at him with amusement.  No wonder the place looked so familiar to him.  Reno had ambushed him on his way out after he’d made a delivery to the club owner and the devious redhead had tracked him down to the Lex afterwards and cuffed him to Fenrir.  That one-night stand led to another, and yet another after that until the relationship moved beyond casual sex to a permanent arrangement.

 

“I don’t remember seeing anyone in costumes,” Cloud said, trying to steer the subject away from his private business.

 

“You weren’t having a good look at anyone on your way in or out,” reminded the Turk.  “You pretty much just wanted to drop your stuff off and get the hell out of here.”

 

“That’s true,” Cloud said with a nod.

 

“I’ll bet ya didn’t even notice the dancing cages inside,” Reno added.

 

Cloud blinked.  “Dancing cages?”

 

“Yup,” Reno nodded.  “You would have been standing right over them when ya went up the stairs to bring the goods to Nesmith’s office.”

 

“This is going to be more fun than I thought,” Zack said with a wolfish grin.  “Think I could get you into one of those cages, chocobo?  You’d look even better on a little swing in there…like a bird in a gilded cage.”

 

“Not unless you want to get booted back into the Lifestream,” Cloud said half-jokingly, fighting his blush factor as the girls chuckled and Rufus leered at him subtly.  Zack was giving the wrong people bad ideas with his talk of cages and his bird comparisons.

 

“If we’re talking about birds in cages, you’d fit that better than Cloud,” Reno smirked at Zack, looking him up and down.  “Come on, Bird boy…let your wings out.”  He approached the taller man and ran his fingertips up and down Zack’s shoulder blades where the slits in his top were, stimulating the spots where the wings emerged from and making the fighter shiver a little.

 

“Reno, don’t do that,” Zack warned, stepping away as the caress threatened to trigger his wings.  He wasn’t sure how or when the redhead had discovered that little trick but if he let him do it for very long, his wings weren’t the only things that were going to spring forth.

 

Genesis watched with interest.  He had a similar erotic zone and until now, he thought he was alone in that.  Reno didn’t listen to Zack’s warning and he backed the fighter against the wall of the building, obviously not caring about what conclusions people drew from his actions.  Genesis watched Rude from the corner of his eye and he almost wished the bald man shared his partner’s lack of propriety.  Of course, Rude’s sober, quiet nature drew Genesis to him in the first place, and so the notion was a fleeting one.

 

“Dammit, Reno,” Zack gasped as the stubborn Turk didn’t back down.  Tingles raced up and down his spine and he felt a familiar surge of adrenaline.  His pants felt uncomfortably tighter in the crotch as he stiffened in them and he heard more than one onlooker gasp an exclamation of surprise as his wings burst free.  He sighed in defeat and looked sheepishly at a nearby couple.  “Special effects,” he lied.

 

“No, you’re that guy,” the young man said.  He looked at his girlfriend.  “Remember that guy we saw on the internet?”

 

“Oh yeah,” she answered, her eyes big in her face as she looked at Zack.  “Those are real, aren’t they?”

 

Rufus cleared his throat and looked at Zack with an “I warned you” expression on his face.  The scene that the former Soldier had made that day rescuing Reno was coming back to haunt him now, just as Rufus suspected it would eventually.  The president spoke up to remedy the situation before it got out of hand.

 

“That was merely a home movie,” he fabricated coolly.  “What you saw on that video clip was nothing more than fancy special effects, like just now.  He’s a master stuntman, you see.”

 

The couple looked at Zack thoughtfully, as did others nearby.  With his toned build it wasn’t hard to believe he was a stuntman and someone whispered that the man who had spoken up was President Shinra, which stifled any further questions people might have asked.  There was more whispering as people recognized Reeve, too.

 

“I _told_ you this was a bad idea,” Vincent muttered to his lover as the line slowly moved.  “People know who you are already.  If someone takes a shot at you tonight—” 

 

 “Relax,” Rufus interrupted softly.  “Anyone entertaining thoughts of assassination is more likely to go for me over Reeve.  The political gain would be greater and I’m far less liked.”

 

Vincent lapsed into silence, forced to agree with his logic. 

 

The doorman spotted Reno and his group as the line moved them closer and when he recognized that the Turk had not one, but two important people with him, he waved them over.  “Hey Reno, long time no see,” he said as Reno motioned to his group and walked over to the bouncer.  “Is that the president and the WRO leader with you?”

 

“Yeah, we’re celebrating tonight, man,” answered the Turk.  “Think ya could save us some waiting?”

 

The bouncer did a quick head count of the group.  Ordinarily he wouldn’t let so many unfamiliar faces go in without screening but this situation was anything but ordinary.  “Any of ‘em packing?”

 

Reno looked at him incredulously.  “What do _you_ think?  Turks and two VIP’s?  Come on, be serious.”

 

“Right,” the doorman agreed with a grimace.  Firearms weren’t usually allowed but the owner made exceptions for the Turks and celebrity bodyguards.  “Let me stamp your hands and you guys can go on in.”

 

~*****************************************~

* * *

 

Zack didn’t retract his wings once they got inside because there was no place private enough to do it without someone witnessing it.  Reno felt only slightly remorseful and he paid for Zack’s first round of drinks to make up for it.  Reeve, Rufus, Tseng and Vincent claimed a lounge booth to relax and have some drinks, while Elena dragged Tifa onto the dance floor with her.  Zack, Cloud and Reno went straight to the bar and Rude and Genesis followed suit. 

 

Cloud tried not to look at the half-naked woman dancing in one of the cages a few feet away but her gyrations kept catching his eye and drawing his attention. 

 

“You ain’t going straight on me are ya, babe?” Reno murmured in his ear as he handed a bourbon and soda to him.

 

Cloud shook his head and took the drink.  “No…it’s just kind of distracting.  I don’t’ know how anyone could do that.”

 

Reno shrugged.  “Guess you’ve never been to a strip club, then.  People do things a lot crazier than dancing or taking their clothes off for money or attention.  What that lady’s doing is nothing compared to some of the shit I’ve seen in my lifetime.”

 

“Yeah?  Like what?”

 

Reno shared a look with Rude.  “You’re still pretty wet behind the ears, Cloud.  We’ve seen people mutilate themselves for a buck.  At least the people cage dancing here are just doing it for fun, yo.”

 

“You’ve been living in Midgar and Edge for all these years and you’re surprised by a little cage dancing?” Zack asked with amusement as he sipped his beer.

 

Cloud shrugged.  “Not surprised, just a little confused by the motivation.”

 

“Hmm, you can take the boy out of the country but ya can’t take the country out of the boy,” Reno said with a wink.  His drink arrived and he took a heavy swallow of it.

 

Rude politely asked Genesis what he wanted to drink, since he was closer to the bar.        

“Do they still make tequila sunrises?” Genesis murmured uncertainly.  How many years had it been since he’d set foot in a place like this?  He wasn’t even certain tequila was still on the market.

 

Rude hid his amusement and nodded.  “Want an extra shot with that?”

 

Genesis almost declined but he’d already been more nervous than he cared to admit before they’d even arrived.  The noise and the crowds were making it worse.  “That would be good, thank you.”

 

Rude ordered the drink for him and for himself, he ordered a Bloody Mary.  Genesis overheard his choice of drinks and his lips twisted a little.

 

“Tomato juice and Vodka?”

 

Rude raised his eyebrows.  “What’s wrong with that?”

 

“I’m not sure,” admitted the redhead, lowering his aqua eyes.  “It’s just something that’s always sounded rather disgusting to me.”

 

“They make really good Bloody Mary’s here,” Rude defended.  “You should try a sip of mine when it’s ready.  You might like it.”  He was surprised at himself.  He’d been sure he wouldn’t be able to say so much as two words to Genesis without getting flustered, but with so many people surrounding them it was easier to talk to him.  He guessed it was because the crowds made it feel a little more casual.  He couldn’t stop his eyes from straying below the neck when Genesis wasn’t looking but he didn’t feel like he was trying to ask the guy to marry him by talking to him now.

 

“Hey Genesis, you should let your wing out,” Reno suggested, leaning back to look at him around the guy wedged between him and Rude.

 

Genesis gave Reno a warning look, annoyed that he just blurted it out like that.  “I’d rather not,” he said in a tone of strict finality. 

 

Reno was smart enough not to push further.  He shrugged and brought his drink to his lips.  “Suit yourself.”

 

Rude looked at his partner, then at Genesis.  “He’s just trying to get everyone loosened up,” he explained apologetically. 

 

“I can tell,” answered Genesis with a little smirk.  “Sometimes one has to be firm, however.”

 

His words made Rude think of him cracking a whip again and the bald man swallowed.  What Genesis was wearing now was perfect for the fantasy and the whip was really the only thing missing from it.  The Turk thanked the bartender a bit more enthusiastically than he intended to when he finished making their drinks and placed them in front of him.  He didn’t start drinking his right away but instead held it out to Genesis, raising his eyebrows in silent question.

 

The fighter looked at the offered drink with a delicate little twist to his lips, but he took it and met Rude’s eyes as he brought it to his lips and took an experimental sip.  His expression relaxed a little and he sipped again before handing it back and taking his tequila sunrise from the Turk’s hand.

 

“Not bad,” Genesis admitted.  “It tastes a bit like salsa and it makes me want to dip corn chips in it.”

 

Rude came very close to laughing at that.  “Have you eaten?”

 

“I nuked a bag of steam vegetables and ate it before I left,” answered the fighter before he took a drink from his cocktail.  He closed his eyes in pleasure at the taste and swished it around on his tongue.  “Mmm, just as I remember it.”

 

Rude was staring.  He knew he was staring but he couldn’t stop.  Did Genesis have _any_ idea how fucking hot he looked with that expression of pleasure on his face?  Probably not…most people didn’t pay attention to their facial expressions when they were enjoying good food or drink.  Damn, everything the man did was sensual.

 

“I’ll have to watch myself,” Genesis said when he opened his eyes again.  He smiled dryly at Rude.  “My tolerance probably leaves much to be desired these days and I could easily drink too many of these.”

 

Rude nodded silently, thinking he detected a flirtatious tone in the other man’s voice.  Was there an invitation in there somewhere for him to take advantage if Genesis went over his limit?  Was it only wishful thinking making him hear it?  He wasn’t used to flirting in code and he didn’t know how to respond.

 

Meanwhile, Reno was trying to convince someone to dance with him.  “Come on, Cloud…with hip action like yours I _know_ you’d be hot on the dance floor.”

 

Cloud shook his head.  “Give it up.  I don’t dance.”

 

Reno sighed and looked Zack up and down.  “What about you, Zack?  You can dance, right?”

 

Zack shrugged.  “Sure, I can dance…if you don’t mind people laughing at us.  Anyone can dance but that doesn’t mean they do it good.”

 

Reno grumbled and looked Rude’s way.  No, his partner wouldn’t dance.  He knew that for a fact from past unsuccessful attempts to get him to do it.  Genesis looked slightly interested and Reno’s attention perked up as another plan formulated in his sly mind.  Rude had a weakness for redheads and Reno could tell that thread of control he was clinging to was stretched pretty thin.  Two redheads dancing together in front of him might just snap it clean and put an end to all this pussyfooting around.  He downed the rest of his drink and moved in on the other redhead.

 

“How about it, Genesis?  Wanna finish your drink and go out there with me?”  Genesis didn’t strike Reno as the sort of guy that had to put on manly airs to feel confident and he’d noticed him looking out at the dance floor more than once.

 

Genesis considered the question.  While Reno wasn’t exactly the partner he’d been imagining, he could tell he’d never get Rude out there while the bald man was sober.  He doubted he could do it even if he were stumbling drunk.  He nodded and finished his drink, surprising both Reno and Rude a little.

 

 _~Well damn, that was easier than I thought it would be,~_ thought Reno as he and Genesis made their way through the crowds and to the dance floor.  _~This guy’s full of surprises.  Hmph…I may not be into other redheads but I think I’m gonna enjoy this.~_

“I’ll be damned,” Zack said as he and the others watched the two of them go.  “Red’s cracking that shell of his a little.  I never even knew Genesis was the dancing type.”

 

Rude’s surprise wore off as he watched his partner and Genesis pair up near where Tifa and Elena were dancing.  It wasn’t so odd to him that someone who enjoyed music and poetry as much as Genesis would also enjoy a dance now and then.  Once they got started, Rude couldn’t tear his eyes away.  While he knew Reno wasn’t interested in Genesis that way it was in his nature to be sensual and flirtatious.  Genesis didn’t seem to mind the provocative way the Turk was gyrating against him and he responded in kind.  Their hands stayed at their sides but they were dancing hip-to-hip and looking at one another intensely. 

 

“Uh…do we need to get a firehose?” Zack commented as he also noticed the blatantly sensual way they were dancing. 

 

Cloud put his head in his hands and groaned a little as he understood what Reno was doing.  He supposed it was better than the Turk literally trying to shove his partner at Genesis and to be fair there were other couples of both genders dancing just as provocatively together as the two redheads were.  He wondered if it was a good idea to push Rude’s buttons so much.  He’d never seen the man lose control before but as a “quiet” guy himself, Cloud knew that he could only take so much before snapping and when that happened, it was usually pretty intense.

 

At their booth, Rufus and the others also spotted Reno on the dance floor with Genesis and Reeve began to laugh.

 

“I fail to see the humor,” Vincent murmured, his voice barely heard over the beat of the music and the voices all around them.

 

“Take a look at the bar and you’ll see,” Reeve suggested between chuckles as he reached for his brandy.  “The dancing isn’t what’s funny…it’s the hidden agenda and the reaction it’s causing.”

 

Rufus was likewise smirking with amusement, his eyes going from the couple on the floor to the three men standing by the bar several feet away.  Tseng sighed and shook his head, amazed at Reno’s talent for detecting attraction between two people that most people missed.  The only other person that had picked up on it so quickly was Rufus, who had made the comment that Genesis seemed to fancy Rude when the eccentric poet had begun helping them against Deepground.

 

Vincent followed the line of the other’s gazes and at first, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.  He hadn’t picked up on Reeve’s interest in him until he kissed him that night and he was still abysmally ignorant of sexual attraction between other people when it wasn’t right there in his face.  He didn’t see anything that should inspire amusement.  Zack and Cloud were in a relationship with Reno, so it made sense that they were enjoying the sight of him dancing with Genesis…though how the three of them could sleep together without jealousy was a mystery to him. 

 

His eyes narrowed on Rude, standing nearby the two swordsmen.  There was something…odd…about the bald Turk’s stance.  It was unusually stiff and tense.  Rude was normally cool and collected even under pressure, so why was the sight of his partner dancing with Genesis making him so restless? 

 

~Jealousy?  No, that can’t be.  There’s something else troubling him and the others obviously know what it is and find it funny.  It’s difficult to tell with those shades covering his eyes.~

 

Vincent gave his lover a faintly annoyed look as Reeve chuckled again.  “I give up, what’s so entertaining about this?  Obviously it has something to do with Rude but I fail to see what.”

 

Rufus obligingly cleared up the confusion.  “You may have noticed that Genesis trusted Rude before he trusted anyone else with the information he provided to us.  Likewise, Rude has been getting on with him much better than anyone else.  The problem is they haven’t acted on this apparent attraction they share and our Fox isn’t one for patience.”

 

Vincent looked at Reno and Genesis again, taking note of the way they moved against one another on the dance floor.  Generally that sort of dancing was a prelude to sex…a human mating ritual commonly practiced in nightclubs like this.

 

“So now Reno intends to sleep with Genesis to provoke his partner into a jealous rage?” reasoned Vincent.

 

Reeve coughed and put his drink down, shaking his head as he wiped at his eyes with a napkin.  Poor, naïve Vincent…he saw the world in such a naked, simplistic way.  It was endearing.  He was hard-pressed not to tease his lover over the simplistic way Vincent viewed the world, but he didn’t want to offend him so he chose to be diplomatic about it.   

 

“He’s provoking him to make a move on Genesis,” Reeve explained bluntly. 

 

“By dancing suggestively with him?” Vincent asked dubiously.  “I’d be more inclined to rip another man’s throat out if they danced with you that way.”

 

Rufus and Tseng both looked torn between horror and amusement at the gunman’s dark, simple comment.  Reeve cleared his throat and shifted in his seat a little, embarrassingly thrilled by Vincent’s declaration of jealousy.  The dynamics in their relationship were anything but typical and though Valentine might come off as an overly possessive control-freak to some, the truth was that there was a balanced exchange of power between them and Reeve was just as possessive of him…he just wasn’t as obvious in public about it.  If another man were to bump and grind against the gunman that way in front of him, people would see Reeve’s jealousy rear its ugly head very quickly.

 

“Well, they aren’t us,” Reeve explained.  “But you know that already.”

 

“You can’t imagine the sight of your lover dancing with someone that way as something erotic?” Rufus questioned, his tongue loosened a bit by the alcohol.

 

Vincent shook his head slowly, his crimson eyes dead serious.  “No.  I wouldn’t find it erotic at all.  I’d find it infuriating.  I suppose for someone in the arrangement you all share it’s another matter, however.  Far be it from me to criticize, even if I don’t understand it.”

 

“To each their own,” Rufus conceded politely.  He raised his glass in a toast and the others followed suit.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“I don’t think I can drink fast enough,” Zack complained as he tried to shift his package to a more comfortable position without being obvious about it.  He’d just gotten his body calmed down after Reno teased his wings into manifestation and now the outrageous Turk had him going again with that dance floor display.

 

Cloud chuckled softly, though he sympathized with his black-haired lover.  He was having a little trouble too but unlike Zack, he wasn’t wearing pants that hugged his body in a way that showed it off. 

 

“Why don’t we go shoot some pool or darts?” Cloud suggested.  “It should be quieter in the pub area and it might take your mind off…things.”  He looked at Zack’s crotch before he could stop himself and the taller man growled at him softly.

 

“Okay, but you’ve got to control those pretty blue eyes of yours,” Zack grumbled, “they’re just encouraging it.”

 

Cloud smirked.  It was true that male genitals tended to have a mind of their own but Zack talked about his like it was an unruly dog he couldn’t keep leashed.  “Come on, I’ll try not to look again.”

 

Zack started to follow Cloud but one of his bulky wings bumped into a woman as he squeezed through the crowd and she nearly lost her balance.  He caught her quickly and apologized. 

 

“Sorry about that, honey.  These things are kind of hard to navigate crowds with.”  He helped her catch her balance and he could tell she’d had one too many drinks.  She blinked hazel eyes up at him and smiled with delight.

 

“So whose guardian angel are you?” the woman purred, giving Zack an appreciative scan.

 

“Whoever needs me,” he said with a grin.  He immediately regretted the glib words as soon as they left his mouth.  Her judgment was impeded by alcohol and the predatory look in her eyes suggested that his comment came off more flirtatious than he’d intended it to.

 

“If all the angels look like you, I can’t wait to get to the Lifestream.”  She said.

 

“Uh, thanks.  Hey look…ack!”  Zack hastily reached behind his body.  “Hands!  I’m not that kind of angel!”  He was blushing hotly as he tried to pry her squeezing hands off of his ass without being rough.  Cloud heard the commotion and turned around to look at him.  His blue eyes were wide for a moment but he quickly found amusement in the sight of the other fighter’s struggle and he crossed his arms over his chest and watched.

 

“Why so shy?” the woman slurred, pressing against him boldly. 

 

Zack gave Cloud a pleading look.  He was a flirt with just about everyone but he wasn’t used to being literally _grabbed_ like this by a complete stranger.  Cloud rolled his eyes and came to his rescue.

 

“He’s _my_ guardian angel,” Cloud said in the tone of a jealous boyfriend, though Zack could see the twinkle of mirth in his eyes.  “Sorry he gave you the wrong idea.”  He put an arm around Zack’s waist and led him away from the disappointed lady.  “I can’t turn my back on you for a second,” he said loudly enough for her to hear it.

 

Once they were out of earshot, Zack sighed in relief.  “Thanks, Goldie.  I forgot what a jungle places like this can be.”

 

“Maybe if you wouldn’t flirt so much,” Cloud suggested with a sidelong, exasperated look at him.

 

“I wasn’t!” Zack protested, “Not on purpose, anyhow.  Well, at least my problem’s going away now.  That scared the boner right out of me.”

 

Cloud blurted a laugh.

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

 “You really _are_ determined, aren’t you?”  Genesis murmured the question in Reno’s ear.  The Turk’s back was pressed against his front and the fighter’s hips were gyrating against his ass.

 

Reno didn’t pretend not to know what he was talking about.  Both of them noticed Rude watching and it was obvious that he found the sight of them dancing together more than interesting.

 

“Something’s got to fire the starter pistol,” Reno agreed.  “Don’t tell me ya don’t want him.”

 

Genesis met Rude’s eyes across the distance.  He could tell the bald man was meeting his gaze even though the shades concealed his eyes.  He could _feel_ the heat of that gaze on him.  He put his hands on Reno’s hips and made a show of nuzzling his neck. 

 

“Yes, I want him,” Genesis admitted.  “You’re a peculiar one, though.  I can’t say that I’ve ever met anyone that would resort to such unusual methods to throw two people together.  I can tell that you have no intentions toward me yourself.”

 

“Yeah?” Reno turned his head and smirked at him.  “How do ya know I’m not just trying to seduce you?”

 

“If you were, I doubt you’d be putting on this show for your partner,” Genesis purred.  “You’re more aggressive than that.”

 

Reno shivered a little.  He had to hand it to the guy; he had sensuality in spades.  He was for Rude though, not him.  “I do whatever it takes, man.  You belong to Rude,” he confirmed a little breathlessly.  “I’m just warming the seat for him ‘till he’s ready to use it.”

 

Genesis nearly stopped moving.  “Now I’m certain you aren’t trying to seduce me.”  While the part about him “belonging to Rude” didn’t trouble him at all, the metaphor that followed was so crude it was almost laughable.  If he’d been entertaining thoughts of dragging Reno off to a dark corner, that would have snapped him out of it like a splash of cold water to the face.

 

“You’re good,” Reno complimented.  Genesis might be subtler in his methods than Reno but he obviously knew more about games of seduction than most people.  “I could use another drink and it looks like my wolves just took off to the rec room.  What do ya say we grab Rude and go shoot some pool with ‘em?  The big man loosens up more if he’s into the game, you know?”

 

“I think that sounds like a fair plan,” Genesis answered. 

 

They shared a brief, conspirative smile before they broke away from each other and walked off of the dance floor.  Rude watched them approach and the horn-bedecked redhead imagined that if he put his head against his partner’s chest, the sound of his heartbeat would probably be deafening. 

 

~Oh yeah…someone’s getting laid tonight if things keep up the way they are.  Someone besides me, that is.~

~**********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	33. Chapter 33

“Alliance”

Chapter 33

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“You’re sucking tonight, partner.”

 

Rude scowled at Reno and came close to telling him that he was partly to blame for his poor billiard skills.  He was teamed with Zack and the black-haired fighter kept them from falling behind on the game.  Reno was teamed with Genesis, of course. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the two redheads were communicating silently and he wondered what they were up to.  Cloud was playing darts until the next pool game and he stopped briefly to get everyone another round of drinks.

 

Rude took aim and clamped down on his focus, refusing to allow his eyes to drift to his opponents.  He sank the striped number six ball and almost smiled with relief.  Genesis turned around to say something to Reno, presenting his back to the dark-skinned Turk just as Rude was lining the stick up to make another shot.  Out the corner of his eye, Rude saw the dim light reflecting on the shiny leather of Genesis’s pants and his gaze was drawn in that direction.  He stared at the fighter’s perfect, rounded ass and he came alarmingly close to giving it an open-palmed smack.  He took his shot absently and he was horrified when the cue ball jumped off the table, arching toward Genesis.

 

Genesis twisted his body sideways and caught the ball in his hand, just before it would have struck him in the side.  He examined it for a moment and then looked at Rude with a crooked smile.

 

“It looks like you’ve nicked the table, Rude.”  He lightly tossed the ball to the staring Turk, who caught it and fumbled with it.  “Too much to drink, perhaps?”

 

“Not enough,” Rude corrected, straightening up self-consciously and placing the ball back on the green felt surface.  Zack looked at him knowingly as he took the stick from him and waited for his turn, but the sable-haired fighter evidently pitied him enough not to tease him over his increasingly obvious problem. 

 

Cloud came back with a tray laden with drinks and Rude snatched his off of it thankfully.  “You got the extra shots?”

 

“Yeah, both of them,” answered the blonde with a sympathetic smile.

 

Rude nodded and started drinking, grimacing a little at the added bite.

 

“Well, that’s the game,” Zack announced as Reno sank the eight ball.  “So who wants to sit the next one out for Cloud to join?”

 

“I will,” Rude said immediately.  “In fact I think I’ll just watch from now on.  I’m not in my groove tonight.”

 

“Now hold it,” Reno huffed, “you just need to get warmed up, man.  No need for ya to sit out for the rest of the night.”

 

“I’m fine,” Rude assured him.  “I think I want to check out the game anyway.  I’ll just watch you guys.” 

 

_~And fantasize about slapping, squeezing and rubbing Gen’s ass every time he bends over.  Dammit.~_

It wasn’t helping that Reno’s pants were just as tight.  Between the two of them, they were giving Rude an overload of red-clad cheekiness that threatened to make his testosterone erupt like hot lava.  He hadn’t felt frustration of this magnitude for a long time and he worried that it would drive him to do something stupid before the night was finished.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

After three more games they took a break.  Reno decided to go and see how Rufus and the others were doing, while Cloud and Zack snuggled in a buzz-induced embrace on one of the lounges and watched the basketball game playing on the big screen television.  Genesis took a seat at the bar next to Rude and the two of them chatted softly.  Seeing that the alcohol had loosened his partner up enough for him to speak to Genesis alone without getting flustered, Reno took his leave of the recreation area and headed back into the main part of the club.  He saw Tifa and Elena talking to a couple of guys and they looked like they were having a good time, so he didn’t bother them.  It took him a minute to remember where the president’s booth was but he spotted a familiar head of sandy blond hair and he squeezed through the crowd to make his way over.

 

Rufus saw him coming and he solicitously scooted over to make room for him.  Reno slid in beside his boss and he reached under the table to give his knee a squeeze.  His hand brushed against something warm and furry and he grinned, realizing that Rufus’s movements had exposed his tail and left it lying on the seat between them.  Reno petted the length of it curiously.  This was the first opportunity he’d gotten to familiarize himself with the appendage and Rufus was mellow enough from the liquor to allow it without protest.

 

“So the woman grabbed you, Vincent?” Rufus questioned the gunman sitting adjacent to him, next to Reeve.

 

“Yes,” confirmed Valentine with a grimace as he picked up the shot of vodka he’d ordered with his drink.  “It was most unpleasant.  I didn’t do anything to provoke her, she just groped me while I was standing in line for the restroom!  You can stop laughing, Reeve.  If it had been a man you’d be tearing this place down looking for him.”

 

Reeve covered his mouth to muffle his snickers.  “Beg your pardon,” he rumbled after clearing his throat.  “You’re right…I’d have flown into a jealous, protective rage if it had been a man.  It’s just…the look on your face when you came back…oh Shiva, I can’t stop!”  His words dissolved into laughter again and the others joined him.  Reno could easily imagine the offended, scandalized expression on Vincent’s face after being groped by an anonymous woman.  After all, in his day women were never so bold.

 

“I’m not leaving this seat for the rest of the night,” Vincent announced before swallowing his shot.  He didn’t even wince at the burn of liquor.  “I don’t care if I have to piss under the table.”

 

“Oh, come on now,” Reno chuckled.  “The odds of that happening again are pretty low and have you had a look at yourself?”  He allowed himself a brief, appreciative once-over.  “The chic probably had one too many and acted without thinking.  Can’t say I wouldn’t be tempted to cop a feel if I didn’t know what you’re capable of.”

 

“Regardless,” Vincent growled, “I’m not leaving this booth until we’re getting into the car to go home for the night.  If it happens again I might react on instinct and murder someone.”

 

Reno sobered and so did the others.  They hadn’t thought of it from that point of view.  Vincent had taken years to learn how to control his demons and the urges they gave him.  One might wonder why he was imbibing alcohol so readily when he had to keep a leash on the beings inside of him, but it made sense that the influence of the booze might keep them sedated.

 

“You aren’t enjoying yourself,” Reeve said with certainty.

 

Vincent shrugged fluidly and lowered his ruby gaze.  He didn’t want to ruin anyone else’s good time and he didn’t want to sulk like a child over a single incident.  He wished he hadn’t said anything out loud.

 

The engineer didn’t waste a moment.  He gave the other three men an apologetic look.  “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us I think it’s time for Vincent and I to go.”

 

“Of course,” Rufus said with elegant courtesy.  “I can ring one of the drivers to meet you out front.”

 

“Thanks, but we can take a cab.”  Reeve stood up and waited for Vincent, who looked a bit surprised by the abrupt decision to go.

 

“We don’t have to leave,” the gunman said uncomfortably.

 

“If you aren’t enjoying yourself, I don’t want to stay,” Reeve said softly, for his ears alone.  “You’ve already endured over four hours of this for my sake.  I think we can compromise and leave before closing time.”  He smiled at his lover and winked.

 

Vincent gave him a faint smile in return and stood up.  “Thank you,” he murmured sincerely.  To the others, he said: “Enjoy the rest of your night, friends.”

 

Tseng looked at his watch and raised his eyebrows.  “The night is a bit mature, actually.  I hadn’t realized how much time has passed since we got here.”

 

Reno watched Reeve and Vincent go and he continued to stroke Rufus’s tail with long, smooth motions.  “Yeah, you know what they say about time and fun, yo.  So have either of you done anything but sit here and talk all night?”

 

“Not really,” answered Rufus lightly.  “But I’ve enjoyed myself regardless.  The booth is comfortable and the waitress makes certain we don’t go without drinks for long.  Excellent job arranging this, Fox.”

 

“You should get out there and dance a little, Sir,” suggested Reno with a flirty smile at him.  “Nobody’s going to pay much attention if they see your tail.”

 

Rufus closed his eyes briefly in response to the sensation of the redhead’s hand stroking his tail.  It was pleasurable in an almost sexual way and it was getting him excited.  “It’s been a very long time since I’ve danced,” he murmured.

 

“Come on, live a little,” Reno cajoled.  He leaned closer and nibbled the president’s ear, sensing the reactions he was provoking with his touch.

 

Rufus wavered under the assault to his senses.  He’d had a bit too much to drink and his judgment was impaired.  Too much alcohol plus Reno’s sexy urgings made for a dangerous combination and Rufus found himself nodding in agreement and getting up with the redhead before he knew what he was doing.  He forgot all about hiding his tail and he shrugged out of his jacket and left it on his seat so that he wouldn’t get overheated on the dance floor. 

 

Tseng smiled softly at the two of them, pleased that their kitsune had managed to convince Rufus to do a little mingling before the night was over.  They still had a couple of hours before closing time but given how fast the moments had ticked by since they’d arrived, Tseng knew they’d be hearing last call before they realized it.

 

The Wutaian watched his lovers go onto the dance floor and he chuckled softly to himself.  Reno was holding onto the president’s tail and Rufus decided to give him a little payback and do the same to the fake one dangling out the back of the Turk’s pants. 

 

_~Rufus must be more intoxicated than I thought.  He’s almost acting like an average man.~_

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Oh my god.”

 

Tifa looked at Elena curiously, wondering what had provoked the outburst.  “What’s wrong?”

 

“Th-the president,” exclaimed the blonde Turk, pointing. 

 

Tifa followed the gesture with her eyes and saw Rufus dancing with Reno.  “What about him?” she asked with a puzzled frown as she scanned the crowd for signs that someone was about to take a shot at him.  “Everything looks fine to me.”

 

“He’s dancing!”  Elena said it as though she was pointing out a pair of antennae sprouting from the man’s head.  She was too flabbergasted to articulate further.

 

Tifa shrugged.  It was a little out of character for the Rufus Shinra she knew, but everyone had knocked back a few drinks and tonight was all about fun.  “Yeah and he’s not bad.  Elena, he’s still human like the rest of us, you know.”

 

The blonde shook her head.  “No, look at his ass!”

 

 Tifa stared dumbly at the blonde woman, so utterly floored by the demand that she look at her boss’s ass that she couldn’t think of anything to say.  Was Rufus so god-like to Elena that the sight of his rear-end un-obscured by a blazer shocked her?

 

“LOOK!” Elena practically howled, grabbing Tifa by the shoulders and whirling her around to face Rufus and Reno. 

 

The barmaid automatically complied, too stunned by Elena’s strange, intense behavior to object.  Her eyes were drawn to Rufus’s ass—not because it was so nice (which it was) but because of what was poking out through the hole in the back of his pants.  Tifa blinked.  If it was out of character for Rufus to be out there dancing, it was even more so for him to have put on a fake tail like Reno.

 

“Okay, so he’s wearing a fake tail,” she reasoned.  “Maybe he was just too embarrassed to show it until he had a few drinks.  Reno probably convinced him to do it.”

 

“Tifa, it’s _moving_ on its own,” Elena insisted.  “Why would President ShinRa go through the trouble and expense to buy a mechanical tail just to wear for Reno’s sake tonight?”

 

Tifa watched the tail swish back and forth as Rufus danced with his Turk partner and it finally dawned on her that it was far too realistic to be a fake.  Elena figured it out right away because she was a cat person and she understood the mechanics of feline tails and how they worked, but it took Tifa longer to realize that the appendage wasn’t just moving because of Rufus’s hip gyrations.  It curved sinuously as it swished and the barmaid was momentarily entranced by it.

 

“He inhaled some of the gas,” Tifa recalled out loud.  “I remember hearing Cloud mention it, but everyone thought he was just naturally immune because there weren’t any visible side-effects.”

 

“That we could _see_ ,” Elena finished succulently.  “He’s kept it hidden until tonight but it looks like Reno at least knew about it.  Either that or he’s so drunk he doesn’t realize the tail he’s squeezing is a real one.”  Elena watched as her fellow Turk and her boss danced with increasingly suggestive movements and her face heated up.

 

“Okay, I think we’ve seen enough hot guys dancing together,” Tifa said dryly as she grabbed Elena’s arm and started dragging her away from the dance floor and to one of the lounge booths.  “And you don’t need to get any ideas about bringing Rufus catnip every day.  We can figure out what happened later, after everyone’s recovered from tonight.  Look, those guys we were talking to are in that booth over there.  Let’s go sit with them for a while.”

 

~************************************~

* * *

 

“So the two of you have been partners from the beginning?” Genesis questioned.

 

Rude nodded and turned his empty glass slowly with his fingertips, watching the light catch the surface.  “I think I was a Turk for about a month before Reno showed up.  Tseng paired us because he thought we’d compliment each other.  Turns out he was right, like he always is.”

 

Genesis listened with interest.  This was the most talkative Rude had ever been and he was sure he had the booze to thank for that.  Even buzzed, the man didn’t prattle on like most people.  He said what was important and didn’t bother embellishing with fancy words or overly detailed descriptions.

 

“And you love each other,” Genesis reasoned.  “Even though he sleeps with both of your bosses and two other men.”

 

“Like I said, it’s always been an open relationship and I’m fine with it.”  Rude shrugged.  “It’s not like he’d have a problem with me picking up another special interest of my own.”

 

Genesis waved at the bartender and motioned to Rude’s glass, as well as his own.  “Would you?” he asked the Turk, holding his gaze.  His vision wasn’t fully cooperating but he wasn’t wasted…yet.  “Take another lover, that is.”  Did he slur that last word?  He couldn’t tell.

 

 Rude tugged his sunglasses down and looked at Genesis over the rim of them, feeling much more confident than before.  “He’d have to understand and accept the arrangement I’ve got with Reno and the others, first.”

 

Genesis’s aqua gaze didn’t waver.  “And if he did?”

 

“Then yes,” Rude nodded.  “I’d take another lover.”  He came very close to reaching under the bar and squeezing Genesis’s knee suggestively, but the bartender returned with their drinks and he thought better of it.

 

“Here’s to getting what you want,” Genesis toasted, lifting his glass with a sensual little smirk.

 

Rude clinked his own glass against it and straightened his shades.  “With any luck,” he agreed.

 

After taking a couple of swallows, Rude became more aware of the increasing pressure on his bladder.  “Excuse me,” he said to his companion.  “I’ve got to take care of something.  Be right back.”

 

Genesis understood what he meant and the redhead nodded.  Rude got off the barstool and took a moment to steady himself.  He was getting a little more buzzed than he thought and he’d probably have to cut himself off soon or risk damaging the progress he’d made with Genesis by humiliating himself and falling on his face.  He turned to head out of the rec room to the bathroom and he paused when he saw Cloud and Zack in the corner booth.  Both of them were passed out, snuggled together comfortably.  Rude had to admit it was kind of cute and he smirked softly before continuing his trajectory.  He’d find Reno on his way back and tell them he should probably look into getting them into the limo soon.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Fuck, it’s been too long, baby,” Reno gasped against Rufus’s mouth between kisses. 

 

Things had gotten heated fast and he was enthralled with the tail he was stroking.  Evidently, the action was turning Rufus on in a big way because the blonde guided him to a secluded corner of the dance floor near some speakers and he now had him pinned against the wall.  Frottage ensued as the two lovers became increasingly aroused and while the dry-humping felt great, Reno was scanning their surroundings for some place out of sight so he could satisfy his desire for a good hard fuck.

 

Rufus slid his hands under Reno’s ass and lifted him, pressing him harder against the wall and supporting him.  The Turk’s legs hugged his waist and he groaned against his ear.  If he’d have been sober he probably wouldn’t be this bold in a public setting, even with the speakers providing some privacy.  Of course, the fact that Reno was basically jacking his tail off was only making it harder to control his lust and as the Turk said, it had been a while since they’d fucked.

 

“I think we need to go outside to the limo for a little while,” Rufus suggested hotly as he bit Reno’s earlobe hard enough to make it sting. 

 

“Sounds like a great plan to me,” agreed the redhead. 

 

Neither of them moved, however.  The rub of their bodies together felt too damn good and Rufus was getting close to coming just from the tail stimulation and the frottage. 

 

“Come home with me tonight,” gasped the president.

 

“Fuck yeah,” Reno panted.  His tongue thrust into Rufus’s mouth and he made one of those needy moans that always drove his partners wild.  He broke the kiss after a moment to gasp: “Want you, Rufus.”

 

The blonde’s body reacted intensely to the slutty declaration.  Rufus cursed breathlessly and tried to tell Reno to stop stroking his tail, but it was too late.  He pressed hard against the redhead and grunted as he came in his pants.  Panting from the release and humiliated, Rufus stayed in that position for a few moments after it finished, resting his head on Reno’s shoulder.

 

“Sir, did ya just blow your load?”  Ever tactful, Reno was.

 

Rufus nodded wordlessly and set him back on his feet.  He wasn’t the sort of man to blush easily but his sculpted cheekbones were flushed with both embarrassment and the aftermath of pleasure.

 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Reno said seriously as he ran his fingers through the sandy blond hair.  “You’ve had a lot to drink and that causes it to happen sometimes.  Hell, you’ve made me come before over the phone without even touching me!”

 

Rufus felt a little better about it but it didn’t make the sticky mess in his underwear go away.  “I think I’ll retrieve my jacket and leave early,” the president said.  Reno had to lean in to hear him over the music.

 

“Okay bossman, but I’m still coming with ya,” the redhead winked.  “Why don’t you and Tseng get in the limo while I round up the others, okay?”

 

Rufus nodded and did his best to walk casually as he returned to the booth where Tseng waited.  Reno watched him and shook his head.  The man was so proud and as far as he knew, this was the first time Rufus had ever had a misfire.  It was going to take some work to salve his wounded pride when they got to his apartment.  Always up for a challenge, Reno shrugged and headed for the recreation area to find the others. 

 

He saw Rude coming out of the men’s room on his way down the hall and he waved to him and hurried over.  “Hey, I was just coming to find you guys.  I think we’re getting ready to pack up and head home, yo.”

 

Rude nodded but he didn’t look that enthused.  Reno tilted his head to the side and studied his partner.  “You know, you don’t have to leave with us if ya don’t want to.  If you’re having a good time you can just get a cab when you’re ready to go.”

 

“I might do that,” Rude agreed.  “Genesis and I are…talking.”

 

Reno grinned.  “Figured as much.  I’ll ask Cloud and Zack if they wanna stay or go and then I’ll check on the ladies and see what they want to do.”

 

“No point in asking Strife or Fair,” Rude interjected.  “They’re both asleep in the booth.”

 

Reno laughed.  “Seriously?  Damn…it seems like everyone’s getting drunk except me.  I might need your help getting them into the limo, big guy.”

 

“No problem,” Rude agreed.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Thankfully, Zack wasn’t utterly wasted.  In fact, he only seemed a little buzzed and he’d just fallen asleep because he was so comfortable.  Cloud, on the other hand, was drunker than Reno had ever seen him before.  The blonde peered up at him blearily with one eye shut when he woke him up, obviously unable to focus his vision.

 

“We going?” Cloud slurred.

 

“Yeah, we’re going, Blondie.  We’ll drop you and Zack off at Headquarters, unless ya want to come to Rufus’s place with us.”  Reno pressed his lips together and tried not to snicker when Cloud attempted to rise, only to fall back down on the seat again and glare at it accusingly.

 

“It won’t let me up,” griped the blonde.

 

“Here, I’ve got you,” Zack said with a chuckle as he got out of the seat and scooped the smaller fighter into his arms with a grunt.  “Just put your arms around my neck, cutie pie.”

 

Cloud obeyed and laid his head on the other man’s shoulder as Zack lifted him and carefully carried him to the hallway leading out of the rec room.  Reno followed closely, ready to try and catch Cloud if Zack tripped or lost his grip on him.  Rude started to follow but his partner waved him away when he saw that Zack was steady enough to safely carry his burden.  Even if he weren’t, Reno knew the black-haired fighter wouldn’t let go of Cloud if his life depended on it and he’d probably twist and throw himself under him to break his fall if they both went down. 

 

Reno cleared a path for them, telling people to move out of the way so Zack could get by with his bulky wings and the passenger he held in his arms.  Tifa saw her friend being carried across the room and she and Elena said goodbye to their companions and crossed the floor to see if they could help.

 

“I can’t remember the last time I saw him this drunk,” Tifa said with a frown.  “Are you sure someone didn’t slip something into his drink?”

 

Reno stopped abruptly and stared at her with alarm.  It was more than possible.  He’d seen several people eying Strife through the night with interest and with his pretty-boy looks, it wasn’t hard to imagine one of them trying to make plans to take advantage of him.  Someone could very well have slipped him a downer while they were shooting pool or while he was in the bathroom.

 

“Fuck, I _thought_ there was something off about how dead he’s acting,” Reno growled.  Date rape drugs were a real problem in nightclubs because it just made most people act like they’d had too much to drink and it didn’t raise much suspicion.  Someone could have made off with his baby and raped him and it would have been all his fault for dragging him out to the Shockwave in the first place.

 

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Zack said grimly, though he nuzzled Cloud’s hair protectively and held him closer as they walked to the front doors.  “He didn’t eat before we went out and he mixed his alcohol.  Maybe that’s all there is to it.”

 

“You’re not upset by the possibility?” Elena asked hesitantly.

 

Zack pressed his lips together.  “I’m not going to get myself worked up over it right now.  If I find out someone did that to him I’ll give them something to think about.  Right now I just want to get him in bed and make him drink some water before he goes to sleep.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Hope the kid’s going to be okay.”  Rude had sat down beside Genesis again but he was watching the direction his partner and the others took with faint concern on his rugged features.

 

“He has Zack with him,” Genesis reminded calmly.  “Frankly, I rarely see such devotion.  Strife will probably fair better than most of us in the morning, with his lover’s attentions.”

 

Rude smirked and nodded in agreement.  “I guess you’re right.”

 

“So, how are you at darts?” Genesis asked.

 

“Not bad.  I’ll order us a couple of fresh drinks while you get the board ready.”

 

Genesis nodded with agreement and slid off the barstool.  He didn’t quite stagger when he got to his feet but his signature grace was slightly impeded, hinting that he too was feeling the effects of the liquor. 

 

Several minutes later, they were taking turns at the dartboard while enjoying their drinks.  This time, Rude’s aim was good and he won the first two games.  They tied on the third game and by the fourth, they’d had two more drink refreshers and Genesis announced that he’d had enough alcohol.

 

“I…I think we should go back to pool,” Genesis said as he closed one eye and lined up the dart.  “Putting someone’s eye out wouldn’t be a good end to the night.  Also, I want coffee if they have it.”  He chucked his dart and it when it hit he blinked.  “Did…I just get the wall?”

 

Rude lifted his shades and nodded.  “Yeah.  Maybe you’re right…darts aren’t a good idea anymore.”

 

They abandoned the dartboard and Genesis went to the bar to order a couple of coffees while Rude got a pool table ready.  There was nobody left in the rec room besides the two of them and the main part of the club was starting to clear out.  Soon they’d be giving the last call for the night and shutting down.  There was probably time for one more pool game and a cup of coffee.

 

It took Rude longer to get the bartender’s attention than he would have liked but after several minutes, he returned with two cups of the steaming, dark beverage.  “I wasn’t sure how you liked your coffee,” explained the big Turk as he handed Genesis his mug and reached into his jacket, “So I just grabbed some sugar and creamer packets.”

 

“I drink it black when I’m like this,” Genesis replied.  “Thank you, Rude.”

 

The bald man nodded politely and cursed the way his pulse quickened from a simple “thank you” from Genesis’s sculpted lips.  He sipped his coffee and insisted that his companion take the first shot.  Genesis did so and he sank one of the striped balls.  As the redhead moved around the table to take his next shot, Rude found himself staring at his ass again.  Whether he’d intended to or not, Genesis had chosen a spot to shoot from that presented his backside to Rude in a manner that was too convenient for the Turk to resist.

 

Rude set his coffee mug on the ledge near the pool sticks and he intended to cross his arms over his chest, but something odd happened as his eyes latched onto the shiny surface of his opponent’s pants.  He watched with helpless fascination as he reached out with one big hand and fondled Genesis’s right butt cheek.  The redhead abruptly straightened and turned around to look at him with faint surprise.

 

_~Oh damn…of all the stupid things to do.  I just fucked up big-time.~_

Rude was prepared for a punch in the face and he figured he deserved it, so he held still and mumbled an apology.  Genesis’s aqua eyes bored into his as he reached out toward him.  The Turk’s mind was awash with confusion as the redhead’s hand closed over his tie, wrapped it deftly around his fist and pulled him closer.  Those lips that Rude had been fantasizing about met his in a searing kiss that threatened to make his knees buckle.  There was nothing hesitant or submissive about it.  Genesis plundered his mouth and rather than thrust his tongue in, he practically sucked Rude’s down his throat.

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind Rude wondered if being a “pushy uke” was a genetic thing with redheads, because Genesis was pulling off an interesting trick of inviting him into his mouth while maintaining dominance over the kiss at the same time.  His lust burned bright and the next thing he knew, he was pushing the other man against the pool table and lifting him onto it.  He heard the creak of leather and felt the fighter’s powerful thighs wrap around his waist.  Genesis still had hold of his tie with one hand, keeping Rude from withdrawing even if he wanted to.

 

Pool balls scattered as Rude hastily swept them out of the way and he pushed Genesis onto his back over the felt surface of the table.  He slid a hand up under the redhead’s vest and shirt, running it over smooth skin and tight muscles.  He was so hard he was surprised the button of his pants wasn’t popping off and he felt Genesis’s answering hardness pressing against his as he ground their hips together.

 

“Last call for alcohol!” a male voice announced cheerfully over the loud speakers.  “You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here!  Make sure you’ve got a designated driver or a cab, people!”

 

The two men broke their heated mouths away from one another and came back to harsh reality.  Genesis stared up at Rude with parted, kiss-swollen lips and he was breathing heavily.  The Turk was also gasping for breath.  Both of them realized how close they’d come to fucking on the pool table despite the unavoidable discovery they would have faced when the club workers came in to clean up the recreation area for the night.

 

“I guess we should go,” Rude murmured, swallowing. 

 

He straightened up and helped his companion sit up as well, flushing with both desire and mortification.  He’d never been driven to make a public display like that before and he couldn’t even blame Genesis for it.  He’d grabbed the other man’s ass and though Genesis had responded by kissing him, he could have left it at that until they had a more opportune moment to take it further.  Instead he’d lifted his companion onto the pool table and dry-humped him like a mutt in heat.

 

Genesis hopped off the table and regarded him silently, prompting Rude to flush and start muttering another apology.  The redhead suddenly smiled and kissed him again, muffling his words before they could finish coming out.

 

“Did I say I minded?” Genesis’s voice was a sensual, droning murmur against his lips when he broke the kiss and spoke.

 

“No, but that wasn’t how I wanted to make a pass at you,” Rude explained.

 

Genesis shrugged.  “I’ve got no complaints.  Perhaps we should get a cab.”

 

Rude nodded.  “Right.  I’ll call ‘em up and take you home.” 

 

He pulled out his cellphone and he didn’t see the annoyed look on his companion’s face as he concentrated on dialing the cab company.

 

 _~Fine, you take me home,~_ Thought Genesis with narrowed eyes, _~But you won’t make it out of my suite, friend.~_

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	34. Chapter 34

“Alliance”

Chapter 34

~**********************************~

* * *

**(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)**

_*Disclaimer:  Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix.  This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*_

~***********************************************~

* * *

 

There was no reason for Rude to walk Genesis into the building and up to his suite.  He was an adult and though he was a little unsteady on his feet, he was perfectly capable of making it to his room without aid.  Still, Rude paid the driver and instead of going straight to the parking garage to get in his car and drive home, he walked Genesis to his suite.  He knew he was making excuses and he wished he’d grow a pair and just go for it, like his partner would if he were in his shoes.

 

“Take some aspirin before you go to bed,” advised the Turk as Genesis searched for his keys.

 

“I never suffer hangovers,” Genesis informed him.  He frowned and searched his other pocket, growing increasingly annoyed.  How did his keys always manage to elude him this way?  He finally located them and pulled them out.  He glanced sidelong at Rude as he unlocked his door and opened it, taking note of the larger man’s position and plotting his next course of action.

 

“I guess you can handle things from here,” Rude said reluctantly as he started to turn.  Genesis’s hand shot out and caught hold of his tie before he could complete the move and the next thing he knew, he was being dragged forcibly through the doorway.  The redhead’s mouth met his in a passionate kiss and Rude couldn’t find the breath or words to protest.  He stumbled into the suite and vaguely registered the sound of the door slamming shut behind him.  Genesis’s mouth never left his as he dragged him steadily through the main living area toward the open bedroom door.  He felt the smooth steel ball of the redhead’s tongue stud against the roof of his mouth and it only served to turn him on more.

 

_~Holy shit, I guess I can stop worrying about how I’m going to make my next move!~_

Rude groaned and put his arms around the other man as he deepened the kiss.  Genesis accepted his tongue eagerly as he thrust it past his parted lips to explore.  The redhead didn’t let go of the Turk’s tie as he guided him into the bedroom, which told Rude in no uncertain terms that he was getting laid tonight.  Genesis briefly broke the kiss to click on one bedside lamp and then his mouth was hot and eager against Rude’s once more.  The Turk instinctively tensed when Genesis tripped him but the redhead gracefully shoved him backwards with one hand as he tripped him, spoiling his balance completely.

 

Rude fell onto the bed and his sunglasses were knocked crooked from the impact.  He didn’t get a chance to reach up and straighten them, because Genesis had followed him down onto the bed and was crawling on top of him sinuously.  He pulled Rude’s shades off and dropped them on the nightstand while rubbing his body against his suggestively.  Rude’s hands settled on the fighter’s leather-clad ass and squeezed it. 

 

“I’d better get protection out,” Rude murmured huskily against his companion’s eager lips.

 

Genesis nodded and silently began to relieve the Turk of his clothes while Rude dug for the condoms and lube he carried in one of his pockets.  Genesis had some protection stashed away conveniently in the nightstand but getting it would require pulling himself off of the handsome Turk and he was too enthralled with the feel of that muscular body rubbing against his to do it.  It had been a long time…too long for his liking. 

 

He’d always had a weakness for muscular, quiet men.  Thinking back on his last relationship was too painful for him, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.  Genesis wasn't sure he wanted something that serious again just yet, and Rude's relationship with his other lovers would allow him to retain some personal space, at least until he was sure he could get used to being involved on more than a casual level.

 

Rude set an unopened condom package to the side, along with a couple of gel packs of lubricant.  Genesis already had his shirt unbuttoned and his belt undone.  The swordsman’s clever, skilled hands opened his pants with deft haste and paused to take his blazer and shirt off.  Genesis left the tie on and Rude guessed that it was a turn-on for him.  The bald man squirmed beneath him, helping him remove the other clothing items awkwardly.    It would have gone easier if he had sat up but something told him his passionate companion might just shove him back down with that inhuman strength if he tried. 

 

This was going to be the first time Rude had ever been with anyone that was stronger than him.  He didn’t count Strife because he’d been more of a voyeur in those encounters, never really engaging in hands-on sex with the blonde.  A twinge of nervousness struck him as he looked into the predatory eyes of Genesis Rhapsodos.  He was used to hot, impatient redheads but with Reno, he could have overpowered him and taken the reins back at any time if he’d wanted to.  The same didn’t hold true with Genesis, despite Rude’s more solid build.  Any strength advantage he might have over the former Soldier would be fleeting at best, given his enhanced biology.

 

Genesis paused after getting him bare from the waist up and his eyes softened on him.

 

“I’m going too fast,” Genesis murmured.

 

Rude relaxed, that one statement easing his concerns.  “It’s okay.”

 

“No,” Genesis frowned.  “I can tell you’re unsettled.”  He put his hands over Rude’s and guided them around his hips to the front, silently urging the bald man to undress him at his leisure. 

 

Rude’s tension faded further.  He removed Genesis’s vest first and then slipped his hands under his shirt to explore his stomach and chest, as he’d done at the club before the last call was announced.  Genesis bent over him and started kissing him again, this time with less aggression.  The slow, sensual thrust and caress of his tongue made Rude groan softly into his mouth and the Turk returned the favor as he began to pull the fighter’s shirt over his head.  Their mouths broke contact again until the garment was off and then sought each other out afterwards. 

 

Rude loved the sound of the leather creaking as Genesis straightened up again and resumed working on getting his pants off.  He looked up at the redhead and admired his pale, lithe torso.  There were faint scars here and there from old battles or training but they only served to enhance the former Soldier’s exotic beauty.  Rude’s palms slid over the tight muscles admiringly.  Genesis had no hair on his chest but there was a thin, auburn treasure trail starting below his navel that made the bald man’s mouth water. 

 

It was then that he noticed that Genesis had a navel piercing too.  He’d missed it the first time he’d caught a glimpse of him without a shirt—probably because he’d been trying so hard not to stare.  It wasn’t big or particularly fancy.  It was just a small silver barbell set into the skin but Rude found it ridiculously sexy.  He traced it with his fingertips and lifted his hips instinctively when Genesis tugged on his pants and underwear. 

 

“I’m _really_ going to enjoy this,” remarked the redhead breathlessly with a pleased smirk when he slid Rude’s pants, shoes and socks off and looked down at his naked form. 

 

Of course, he’d already seen a glimpse of the other man’s package in a naughty moment of curiosity but now that it was fully aroused and exposed for him, he took the time to appreciate the length and thickness of it.  He was nicely equipped himself but not like Rude.  He gripped the erect member in one hand and slowly stroked the length of it, watching Rude’s face.  The Turk’s lips parted and he sighed with pleasure, gently thrusting into the touch.  His big hands started undoing Genesis’s pants and the redhead obligingly shifted closer to give him better access.

 

He was eager to feel Rude inside of him but at the same time, he wanted to taste him.  Genesis groaned when the bigger man freed his erection from his pants and squeezed it firmly yet gently.  The rough, calloused pad of Rude’s thumb brushed over the sensitive tip and precum began to form as a result.  Genesis produced the clear, slippery fluid quickly as Rude continued his gentle massage, until the cap of the redhead’s cock was shiny and wet. 

 

An idea struck Genesis as he pondered whether he could wait on getting prepared or not.  Whoever said he couldn’t suck Rude off while getting stretched at the same time?  He stopped stroking the Turk and disengaged his hand from his erection, smiling with promise at him when he saw the flash of confusion on the chiseled face.  He pulled his boots off and wriggled out of his pants, dropping them on the floor before crawling on top of Rude again.  The Turk was understandably surprised when Genesis turned around, presenting his ass to him while situating himself over Rude’s erection.  Rude caught on when the redhead lowered his mouth to his cock and slowly took it in.  It felt so good that all Rude could do for a moment was grunt and stare at the firm, tempting mounds of his companion’s ass.

 

He regained control of his brain a moment later when it occurred to him that Genesis was in the perfect position for him to prepare him.  Rude grabbed one of the gel packs anxiously and warmed it in his hands for a couple of moments before snapping the tab off.  He squeezed most of it out between Genesis’s cheeks, letting the viscous liquid coat the outside before he squeezed the rest of it out over his fingers.  He rubbed the lube over his target first, dragging in a sharp breath when Genesis traced the fold of skin where his glans met his shaft with his tongue stud.  A moment later, he dropped his head further and loosened his throat muscles to swallow Rude’s impressive length whole. 

 

_~Fuck, he’s good.  If he’s out of practice I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it when he gets back into the swing of it again.~_

Genesis’s responsive moan when Rude eased a finger inside of him vibrated around his cock and gave him a moment’s pause.  He took another deep breath and pressed deeper, searching carefully for that spot that would make it easier to relax the tightness squeezing him.  If the redhead’s oral skills gave him doubts that he hadn’t been with anyone for a long time, the resistant clenching proved those doubts wrong.  He was going to have to work to loosen him up enough to take him without pain.

 

Rude gently stroked back and forth inside of Genesis with one finger while using his free hand to stroke his erection.  The muffled sounds of pleasure that hummed against his sex told him his companion was enjoying his attentions and his confidence grew. 

 

“Damn, that’s good,” Rude gasped as Genesis worked his throat and stroked with his tongue.  “I might not…last if you keep…doing that.”

 

In response to the breathless warning, Genesis squeezed the base of the thick shaft he was sucking on to prevent an untimely release.  He wanted his companion hot and needy but not out of control.  He nearly jumped a little when he felt a familiar, nearly forgotten sensation shoot through him as Rude located his prostate and rubbed it.  He twitched in the Turk’s stroking hand as the pleasure grew stronger and he began to rock back and forth with restless encouragement.

 

Rude felt the clenching around his finger beginning to ease up, but he waited for a few more moments before adding a second one.  He knew he was getting his companion close when Genesis’s breath began to hitch in a telling way.  When he was sure he wouldn’t cause undue pain, he pushed his second finger in and began to curl and scissor inside.  He panted the redhead’s name as the hot, wet pleasure of his mouth brought him to the brink and Genesis squeezed his cock firmly as it began to buck.

 

“Oh, fuck,” Rude groaned before he could stop himself. 

 

His hips thrust mindlessly as his orgasm was held at bay.  Genesis allowed his pulsing cock to slide out of his mouth to the tip and he licked the shaft with long, slow swipes of his tongue.  Unable to stand it anymore, Rude stopped stroking Genesis off and grabbed for the condom.  The redhead took it from him without argument and Rude caught his breath and continued to finger-fuck him as Genesis tore the package open.

 

“It’s probably best that we’re using yours,” the fighter said with a smirk as he read the label on the package.  “I didn’t buy any for ‘endowed’ men.”  Indeed, he doubted a regular condom would have fit comfortably on Rude and he admired the size of his cock as he rolled the protective latex onto it.  He took the other lube package that was handed to him next and he slicked it over the rigid, sheathed flesh—mindful not to play for too long and get the bald man overly worked up. 

 

As soon as Genesis finished lubing him, the Turk removed his fingers from inside of him and sat up, catching him around the waist.  Genesis was pulled tightly against his companion’s chest with one muscular arm while Rude got lined up.  It put him in a position where he was straddling the bigger man’s powerful thighs, with his back to him.  He resisted another smirk, pleased that Rude was losing his inhibitions and allowing some aggression to slip through.  Genesis was an assertive lover but he liked getting dominated as well.

 

All of his desire and need couldn’t prepare him for the feel of Rude’s thick length breaching him, though.  Genesis spouted a groan when the other man’s cock nudged past his ring.  It was almost like losing his virginity again, it was such a tight fit.  Rude paused and held him close, pressing soft, soothing kisses on his neck and shoulder.  His stubble tickled the redhead’s skin and his embrace eased the brief moment of alarm he’d felt.  Rude’s other hand moved around front, between the fighter’s trembling thighs.  He curled his fingers around Genesis’s erection and started rubbing up and down the length, distracting him from the discomfort of penetration.

 

“Well played,” Genesis gasped in approval, turning his head to kiss Rude.

 

Rude returned the kiss and continued to stroke him as he waited for him to adjust a bit more.  He experimentally lifted the redhead with his embracing arm, guiding him up and back down again as he pushed his hips upwards.  Genesis gasped as his cock drove deeper into his body but the timbre of his voice indicated there was more pleasure than pain.  Rude kept going but he took it slow and easy, little by little.  The redhead shuddered against him but he was eagerly bringing his weight down and taking him in as quickly as he could. 

 

Rather than ask him if it was better, Rude paid attention to his body language and waited until his tension began to fade before he started moving.  Genesis responded more than favorably, rocking back against the Turk’s thrusting hips and clutching at his knees.  Certain now that he wasn’t hurting him, Rude held his companion more tightly against him and pumped harder and deeper, grunting with pleasure against the other man’s ear.  Genesis gasped a rough demand and shoved himself down hard on Rude’s cock, crying out without restraint for the first time.

 

“You want it rough?” Rude gasped through clenched teeth.  He bit lightly down on Genesis’s shoulder, experimentally.  He could taste the perspiration breaking out on the redhead’s skin and it was difficult not to just give in to his body’s demands without waiting for an answer.

 

“Does this answer your question?” Genesis growled as he slammed himself down again.

 

Rude was what Reno affectionately referred to as a “slow burner”.  He was always cautious when taking a lover and he kept himself in check until given consent to do otherwise.  Now that he had it from Genesis, there was no reason to hold back.  He lifted Genesis and tucked his legs under him while pushing the redhead forward onto his hands and knees.  He gave him a moment to catch his balance before he took both his wrists in his hands and guided them down, so that his arms lay at his sides and his head and shoulders lay on the mattress.  It put him in the best position for Rude to have total control over the angle and thrusts.

 

Genesis groaned as the Turk plunged hard and deep into him again.  His head was turned to the right and his hair had fallen over his face and mouth but he hardly cared.  Rude started taking him with steady, hard thrusts and the bald man held his wrists steady to keep him from trying to rise.  It certainly wasn’t the most dignified position to be in, with his ass in the air and his face getting pressed into the mattress.  He _loved_ it.  He pushed back against his companion’s rolling hips as much as he could in the restricted pose and he heard someone moaning louder and louder.  It took him a moment to realize the sound was coming from him.

 

“You want it harder?” Rude said in a ragged, heavy voice.

 

Gaia, _did he?_   Genesis rarely made noises like _that_ involuntarily.  He’d staged a shout or a moan on occasion, to try and urge a poor lover to greater heights.  What was escaping his parted lips now was raw, dragged up from somewhere deep inside of him.  Rude let go of his wrists and reached between his thighs to fondle him as he waited for the answer and Genesis swallowed and moaned again, unsure of what would come out if he tried to speak.

 

“Unh…y-yes…h-harder,” he managed to choke. 

 

_~Dear goddess, the man’s fucked me speechless and we’ve barely gotten started!~_

His thoughts locked up abruptly as Rude obliged with his request.  The big man was making animal sounds of lust and pleasure—quite the opposite of what Genesis had expected from him even in the heat of passion.  It only made everything so much more intense and Genesis bit his lip to keep from screaming Rude’s name out loud.

 

“You’re so tight, baby,” Rude groaned, his expression almost pained.  He almost slowed down when he saw how flushed Genesis’s face was getting under the webbing of auburn hair obscuring it, but he felt the swordsman’s cock getting rock-hard in his gripping hand and he was positive he was on the verge of climax.  Rude arched over Genesis’s back and used his free hand to brush aside the sweat-dampened hair that was clinging to his face.  When he saw that he was biting his lip, he guessed it could be for one of two reasons:  Either he was doing a great job fucking him or he was horrible and Genesis was trying not to yell at him in frustration.

 

Maybe it was a gamble, but Rude chose to believe the former.  It couldn’t be this hot or feel this great if it was all one-sided.  He pried Genesis’s lip out from between his teeth and clamped his hand over his mouth, hissing as the redhead bit down but not pulling away. 

 

“Come for me,” Rude growled, keeping his powerful thrusts steady and deep.  “Scream if you’ve got to but just do it!”

 

If it were any other man and any other situation, Genesis would have balked and made some sort of snide remark about delusions of grandeur.  There was no arrogance in Rude’s demand though.  He wasn’t commanding him to orgasm on his word; he was encouraging him to let go.  Something snapped inside of Genesis and his body tensed all over as he bit down on Rude’s muffling hand and obeyed.  He cried the bald man’s name as he screamed and Rude’s thumb circled the head of his bucking cock as it spurted all over the bedding. 

 

Rude ignored the sting in his hand and gasped encouragingly to the other man, driving deep into him as the spasms overcame him.  He laid his sweating forehead against Genesis’s back and followed him into the final stage, filling the condom until there was no room left and some of his seed was dribbling out at the base.  Somehow, he refrained from sprawling on top of him and as they gasped in release, he helped the redhead drag his arms into a better position to support his upper body. 

 

Genesis lay stunned and panting, his body trembling weakly as the larger man eased him onto his stomach and slipped carefully out of his aching passage.  He felt Rude’s heavy weight shift and sink down on the mattress beside him and he cracked one eye open to stare at the Turk.  Rude looked rather concerned.  Genesis didn’t know how to explain to him that he liked a little pain with his pleasure.  He certainly didn’t know how to explain the way he’d bitten down on his hand or why he’d tried so hard to hold back his yell of release.

 

“How is your hand?” Genesis gasped after he caught his breath enough to speak.

 

Rude lifted the abused appendage and shrugged.  “I may need rabies shots.”  His voice was predictably steady, if a bit winded.

 

Genesis struggled onto his elbows and smirked at him.  “Was that a joke?”

 

“I can crack a few now and then,” confirmed the Turk with a quiet smile. 

 

Rude reached out and stroked Genesis’s hair with the hand in question and the redhead got a good enough glimpse of it to see that he hadn’t broken the skin, though there would probably be some bruising.  Genesis didn’t apologize.  Just as he’d asked Rude to fuck him hard, the Turk had put his hand over his mouth knowing the risk of getting bitten.  He had no regrets about that but he was puzzled by how easily he’d spiraled out of control, and how verbal Rude had been.

 

“You’re surprisingly talkative during sex,” Genesis observed casually.  He rolled onto his back and smirked sidelong at the bald man.

 

“Yeah, and you’re surprisingly un-talkative…unless you count moans and groans…”  Rude hastily rolled on top of Genesis when the redhead made a move as if to hit him.  He pinned his arms over his head and smirked, knowing he’d never be able to get away with this if the man weren’t giddy with the afterglow of pleasure.

 

“I have an excuse,” Genesis grunted.  He struggled against the other man’s hold even as he smiled.  “To say I had a ‘dry spell’ would be an understatement.”  He heaved Rude off of him and turned the tables on him before he could register what had happened.  Ignoring the soreness in his nether area, Genesis straddled the Turk and pinned him down the same way he’d been pinned by him a moment ago. 

 

“You’ve inspired me to experiment,” Genesis murmured seductively as he brought his mouth close to Rude’s.  “I wonder if you can draw those sounds from my throat the next time?  Or the next, after that?”

 

“Only one way to find out,” Rude said, not the least bit intimidated.

 

“You aren’t concerned that it might have only been inspired by sustained sexual frustration on my part?”

 

Rude chuckled softly.  “You shouted my name.”

 

“Smug, aren’t we?”  Genesis was grinning in a challenging way.  “What makes you think that meant anything?  I might have been yelling _‘Roof’_ or _‘Room’_ for all the coherence from behind your hand.”

 

“Why would you yell that?”  Rude kept a straight face.

 

“Because I’m as mad as a hatter,” Genesis shrugged.  “Or so they say.”  His expression was equally sober.  It lasted for a full minute before they both smirked.

 

“Fine, I shouted your name,” Genesis sighed.  He lowered his mouth to Rude’s and teasingly ran his tongue over his lips, tracing them with the stud piercing before pulling back.  “I suppose you call all of your bed partners ‘baby’, then?”

 

“No,” Rude said evenly, feeling his cock re-awakening already. “Only the ones that drive me crazy.”

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

They had sex once more before falling asleep against one another.  The second time, Genesis kept hold of the tie that was still around Rude’s neck and he damned near choked him at one point.  At least, that was what Rude initially thought he was trying to do until he started coming and the orgasm was so intense he lifted his lower body and the redhead straddling him off the mattress in the final thrust.  Genesis evidently knew a few tricks and how to deprive a lover of just the right amount of oxygen at just the right time was one of them.

 

No wonder he’d told Rude to knock three times on the head board if he wanted to stop.  By the time the bald man considered doing that, however, he was already coming hard and fast inside of his companion and Genesis abruptly released his hold on his tie to let him draw breath.  While Rude fell asleep wondering how many other little kinks he’d discover about Genesis over time, the sated fighter laid on top of him and fell asleep wondering how Rude had managed to drag several screams out of him again, even when he’d been holding the proverbial reins. 

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

“Ooooohhhhh.”

 

The long, dragged-out moan was hoarse and pain-filled.

 

Zack lifted his head and looked down at the fluffy golden spikes resting on his chest.  Ordinarily he’d grin and make some kind of joke, but he still suspected Cloud’s condition to be a result of drugs mixed in with one of his drinks.  He gently stroked the blonde’s head and looked toward the bottle of aspirin sitting on the nightstand.

 

“I’m not going to ask how you’re feeling,” Zack murmured as he stretched ponderously to grab the bottle without jostling his lover too much.  “You were pretty bad off when we left the club last night.”

 

“Time is it?” Cloud mumbled thickly as he struggled to raise his head and focus his eyes.

 

“It’s almost half-passed ten,” answered Zack.  He opened the bottle and held it close to his companion.  “I was starting to get worried about you, Chocobo.”

 

“Don’t remember drinking _that_ much,” Cloud said as he held his hand open.  Zack shook two tablets into his palm and the blonde tossed them into his mouth.  “Ugh…water?”

 

“I’ve only got two hands, you little goober,” Zack teased as he hastily set the bottle back on the stand and reached for the glass of water he’d left sitting beside it.  “Here, careful now.”

 

Cloud swallowed several mouthfuls of water until he washed the pills down and then he plopped his head back on Zack’s chest and moaned again, pulling the sheets up over his eyes.  “’M never going to that place again,” he announced in a mournful whimper.  “They served embalming fluid and said it was liquor.”

 

“They didn’t serve embalming fluid,” Zack corrected with an amused snort.  “You mixed your alcohol and you didn’t eat before we went out.”

 

Cloud shook his head under the blanket and promptly groaned at the pain that lanced through his skull as a result.  “Doesn’t matter…I’ve done it before and never felt this bad.  I’m dying.  They tried to kill me.  Where’s Reno?”

 

Zack lifted the sheet and looked down at the bloodshot pair of sapphire eyes blinking at him from the shadows.  “We think someone tried to drug you,” he explained.  “Nobody else was that bad off and everybody drank a lot.  Reno went home with Rufus and Tseng last night but he’s already called twice.  I put our phones on ‘silent’ so it wouldn’t wake you up.” 

 

“So at least he’s okay,” Cloud sighed.  “I’m right about one thing; someone tried to kill me.”  The last was said petulantly.

 

Zack grimaced, disliking the task of explaining certain things that the blonde was clearly still naive about.  “Uh, my guess is someone wanted to get down your pants, whether you were awake enough to consent or not.  Happens a lot in nightclubs, to tell you the truth.”

 

Cloud frowned at the explanation and then he quickly grimaced.  “Shit,” he muttered, yanking the sheets back over his head.  “How could I have been so dumb?”

 

“Now hold on a minute,” Zack said angrily, “what’s there to be ‘dumb’ about?  You probably left your drink alone for a grand total of five minutes, maybe four times during the night.  The rest of us were there too and we didn’t think to assign drink watches when anyone needed to take a piss, so don’t call yourself ‘dumb’ just because you got the chamber with the bullet in it.” 

 

“So you’re saying going out on the town is like playing roulette?” Cloud murmured.

 

Zack shrugged.  “No worse than going camping, I guess.  You know not to leave food out to attract wild animals but when you’re having a good time with your pals you might not notice you left a marshmallow or half-eaten hot dog laying out.  See what I mean?”

 

 Cloud lifted the covers enough to peek at him.  “I think I’d rather take my chances with the animals.”

 

Zack snickered softly.  “Me too.”

 

Cloud lowered his head again and sighed.  “Do you mean that?”

 

Zack frowned at the vague question.  “What, about animals versus people?”

 

“Sort of.  I just mean, it sounds like you wouldn’t mind getting away from all the people.  Would you really miss the big city life?”

 

The black-haired fighter considered the question.  “I’d miss parts of it, yeah.  A few years ago I’d have probably said I’d miss all of it but now…I guess I’m settling down in my old age.”

 

Cloud snorted.  “’Old age’.  Physically you’re younger than me now.”

 

“How do you figure?” Zack scoffed.

 

“Your body,” Cloud explained as he rubbed his temples beneath the covers.  “It’s the same age it was when we…when Hojo brought us down to the basement.  We were down there for four years so your body should be about a couple of years younger than mine.”

 

“So I guess you’re a cradle robber,” teased Zack.  He winced when he felt Cloud pinch his leg.  “Okay, I’ll stop kidding around.  So what are you trying to ask me, Cloudy?”

 

“You know that place where you practiced flying?” the blonde said hesitantly.  “The one with the barn, where we—” 

 

“—As if I’d ever forget _that_ place,” Zack said with a wide grin.  “What about it?”

 

“I was thinking, it’s probably time I got my own place,” Cloud murmured.  “Living with Tifa was fine when I wasn’t with someone but that’s changed now.  I don’t think I want to live in the city and I looked into it and found out I could probably afford to buy that land and fix it up.  Maybe build a house and raise chocobos.  Damn, you’re laughing at me!”

 

“You’re serious?” Zack stopped snickering and pulled the covers up to look into his eyes.  Tired and bloodshot as they were, the blue orbs were steady and sincere as they looked back at him.

 

“Yeah, I’m serious,” Cloud said, flushing a little with embarrassment.  “I know it probably sounds stupid and I know you joined SOLDIER in the first place to get out of the country.  If you’re not up for it, we could look somewhere else.  I just wanted to run it by you.  I mean, we don’t even have to raise chocobos…I just thought it was something we could do later down the line if we have a house built there.  The barn’s not in bad shape and you think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”

 

“I think you’re too damn cute for your own good,” Zack corrected with a grin.  “But seriously, I hope you’ll give yourself a little more time to think about this.  If it’s what you really want then that’s great, but post traumatic stress can get people to make all kinds of decisions they regret.”

 

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” Cloud objected softly.

 

Zack reached in under the covers and caressed his jaw.  “Then that’s what we’ll do.  You know I’ll be by your side even if you want to live in a ditch and raise tadpoles, Cloud.”

 

It was all the encouragement Cloud needed.  He smiled, despite the pain in his head and the nausea in his gut.  “I’m going back to sleep,” he murmured, “When I get up I’ll tell Tifa we talked about this.  Would you tell Reno I’m still alive?”

 

Zack smiled.  “You bet.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“Reno, I’m sure he’s okay.”  Rufus’s voice was stern as he finished blending the special cocktail he’d made for their hangovers and began to pour it into the three glasses he had set out on the island counter.  “Zack told you he was going to shut the ring tone off on both their phones so that he could sleep it off in peace.  If something were wrong, he’d have called you by now and told you, I’m sure.”

 

“Or else he would have told the medics to call you,” reasoned Tseng softly.  The Wutaian thanked Rufus as he slid his drink to him and he began to sip it.  

 

“I know,” Reno grumbled.  “I’m just…if someone slipped something to him it’s my fucking fault and if he had some kind of reaction in the night…” He trailed off and lapsed into silence as Rufus stared at him with annoyance.

 

“If you were that concerned you could have stayed at his suite with him and Zack,” the president coldly pointed out.

 

Reno’s eyes shot to him and his mouth twisted.  At the last minute, he remembered whom he was about to yell at and he bit back an angry retort.  “I just expected to hear something back by now.”

 

Rufus dropped his stony expression and gently slid the shake to the redhead.  “Give it another hour.  You know as well as anyone how late a person can sleep in when nursing a hangover.”

 

Reno nodded and silently started drinking the cocktail without tasting it.  A high-pitched beeping noise pierced the silence painfully, making all three men wince.  Reno hastily grabbed his cellphone off the table, juggling it clownishly as he nearly dropped it.  He flipped it open and sighed with relief when he saw that he had a text message from Zack.

 

“Cloud is ok.  Sleeping it off.  Will call later.  *pinches yur butt*”

 

Reno grinned and put the phone down.  His bosses were both giving him a knowing, politely interested look and he shrugged.  “That was Zack.  Cloud’s okay.”  He didn’t mention Rude because he’d gotten a text code from him earlier that could only mean one thing: he’d gotten lucky.  Reno could wait to prod him for juicy details until later, when his headache went away.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

“Is that mine or yours?” 

 

Genesis’s slow, epicurean kisses were keeping Rude in a semi-euphoric state and it took him a moment to register the question and realize a phone was ringing.  The redhead hadn’t stopped kissing him after inquiring about it and his hand was steadily sliding under the covers.

 

“Mine,” Rude murmured with a sigh.  He pulled his mouth away from his companion’s and rolled in the bed, peering over the side where his clothes still lay piled on the floor.  He reached down and dug his cell out of his blazer, trying to ignore the tingles racing along his skin where Genesis’s hands caressed.  Seeing the name on the ID, he raised his brows with surprise.  He’d expected it to be Reno but evidently, his partner took the “do not disturb” code more seriously than he thought he would.

 

“Good morning, Sir,” he said as he brought the phone to his ear.

 

“Good morning, Rude,” answered Rufus politely, “I just wanted to call and remind you that Genesis is expected on the field this afternoon.  He agreed to instruct on weekends as well until he’s satisfied with the improvement level.”

 

Rude felt his face heat up and it didn’t help that the instructor in question was flicking his tongue over the piercings in his other ear.  “Yes, Sir,” Rude said, shivering a little in response to the redhead’s playing.  “I’ll check in on him if you want.”

 

“That would be nice,” Rufus said pleasantly.  “Not to mention, rather convenient since you’re…closer…than I am.”

 

Rude’s breath caught as one of Genesis’s hands curled around his hardening dick under the covers.  Somehow, his voice retained a neutral tone as he answered the president’s sly, insinuating statement.  “That won’t be a problem, Sir.  Have a good weekend.” 

 

“I’m sure I will.  Goodbye, Rude.  Oh, and well done.”  The smirk in Rufus’s voice was unmistakable. 

 

Rude hung up the phone and took a deep breath.  “That was the president,” he announced, squirming a little as Genesis rolled another condom over his cock and deliberately stroked the length in the process.  “You almost made me stammer, phoenix.”

 

“Hmmm, to break the unbreakable composure _would_ be a feat,” Genesis answered in that droning voice.  He scraped his teeth over the Turk’s earlobe.  “So when did you come up with the moniker of ‘phoenix’ for me?”

 

“I didn’t think it up,” Rude admitted.  “I just think it fits you.”

 

“I think I like it,” Genesis said.  He guessed that Reno was the one to come up with the nickname, given the other redhead’s penchant for creative slang.  He didn’t mind and he didn’t think more of it.  He wanted Rude again and there was only so much time left before he’d have to have lunch, get cleaned up and get ready to commit to a few hours of training.

 

“We can’t forget about your field instruction this afternoon,” Rude reminded between kisses as the redhead rolled onto his back and pulled him on top of him.

 

Genesis stared up at him with an openly amused expression on his face, leaving the Turk to wonder what he’d said.  “Something funny about that?”

 

“Only the fact that I was just thinking about how little time we have left before duty calls,” sighed the fighter.  “Oh, don’t worry.  I can divide business from pleasure when I have to.”

 

Rude grunted as the swordsman’s thighs tightened around his waist, constricting tightly enough to make him breathless.  “So which one is this?” Rude asked.  His back popped in a stubborn area and he stared down at the other man with surprise.

 

“My business, your pleasure,” Genesis answered shrewdly.  “Feel better?”

 

Rude flexed his back muscles a little and he smiled.  ”Screw going to the chiropractor…that was fun _and_ free.”

 

“Who said it was free?” Genesis countered, arching a brow.  “There’s added interest tacked onto the price for every moment you waste, too.”

 

“So what’s the cost?” Rude was grinning inwardly but his face was expressionless.

 

“I’ll settle for this,” answered the fighter as he slipped a hand under the covers again and gripped Rude’s sheathed cock.  “We’ll decide how you’d like to pay the interest later.”

 

 Rude could think of dozens of ways he’d like to “pay the interest”, not the least of which included toying with that belly-button ring, rimming Genesis until he begged or sucking him off until he came down his throat.  All of that would have to wait for another time, when Genesis wasn’t wrapped around him and practically dragging him into his body.  Rude felt the redhead’s prepared hole pressing against the tip of his arousal and he rocked forward with a groan just as Genesis settled one leg over his shoulder. 

 

He _had_ to be sore…Rude could see it in his face as he filled him.  Despite the obvious discomfort of the initial penetration, Genesis didn’t let him pull back.  He was still almost too snug around Rude, but his aqua eyes slid shut and his lips parted with visible pleasure.  He bit his lower lip for a moment and Rude held still, gazing down at him until the tension faded from his expression.  When Genesis opened his eyes and looked up at him expectantly, the Turk’s mouth quirked a little with amusement.

 

 _~And people wonder why I love redheads so damn much,~_ Rude thought as he kissed his new lover.

Genesis was tempted to urge Rude to fuck him harder, but even _his_ body could only take so much in a short amount of time.  They’d already had sex twice since waking up and he had the good sense to know he wasn’t going to be much good to anyone if he ruptured something.  Rude had the capacity to really harm him if he wanted to, but the man knew how to use his equipment.  The pumping of his hips was smooth even when he was doing it hard.  His muscles worked gracefully together as he moved and even when he made Genesis’s vision go white with a particularly powerful thrust, the impact was never jarring.      

 

This time, they didn’t last very long.  Both of them were worn out from the late night and all of the previous sex.  Rude purposely searched for the best angle and drove into the redhead in the way he thought was most stimulating for him.  He gasped Genesis’s name when the fighter’s eyes fluttered with pleasure and his sculpted face took on an expression that Rude thought was beautiful.  The Turk almost came too soon and he felt a moment of panic, but then Genesis’s wing abruptly emerged from under the redhead and he embraced Rude with it and shivered against him, moaning throatily.  Relieved that he didn’t blow it, Rude let himself go and he buried his face against his companion’s shoulder as he came inside of him.

 

Genesis held the gasping Turk in his arms and with his wing, only partly aware that the feathered appendage had made an appearance and gotten in on the action.  He brushed his lips over Rude’s sweat-beaded forehead and sighed, enjoying the feel of him still twitching inside of him.  They were both quite a mess now…primarily thanks to Genesis.  If he’d have thought of it he would have put one of his regular condoms on himself at least a couple of the times they had sex, to cut down on the mess.

 

“Sex times five, shower, lunch, training, dry cleaning, more dry cleaning, dinner and finally bed,” Genesis announced breathlessly.

 

Rude lifted his head and frowned at him. 

 

“My ‘to do’ list,” explained the redhead with a sigh.  “We’ve just crossed out the first part, of course.  The rest is less fun.”

 

Rude smirked, again praising redheads silently.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued 

 

 

      

 

 

      


	35. Chapter 35

“Alliance”

Chapter 35

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“So, this is where you want to live?”  Reno looked out at the landscape and did his best to keep the dismay out of his voice and expression.  It had been a couple of days since they went to the nightclub and Cloud had insisted on showing him the land he was eying once he was off the clock.  Reno flew them there in his chopper and the three of them stood together outside the abandoned farm. 

 

The place wasn’t too far away from Junon—only an hour or two outside city limits by road and ten or twenty minutes by chopper.  If his lovers picked this piece of land to live on, at least Reno wouldn’t have to travel far to visit them and vice-versa.  There were several acres of land—some of it fenced in near the barn, where the pond was.  The rest was a combination of overgrown fields and woods.  There were foothills and mountains in the distance to the northeast, where the old Mythril mines were.  Reno guessed the winters would get cold here and he hoped Cloud and Zack had the funds to build a decent house on this property after buying the land.  He had a sinking feeling his lovers were going to end up living in a cheap shack for a while.

 

“Yeah, this is the place,” Cloud answered with a nod of certainty.  “I know there’s a lot of weed growth but the barn’s not in bad shape at all.  With a little work we can probably fix it up ourselves and stay in it until the house is built.”

 

Reno’s eyes popped open wide and his ponytail whipped against Zack’s shoulder as he turned to look at Cloud incredulously.  “Tell me ya didn’t just say that, baby.”

 

Cloud looked puzzled.  “What, that we’re buying the land?”

 

“No, I mean about the part where you and Zack live in a barn,” Reno explained.  “Hey, I’m trying to be supportive here and I know you two wanna raise chocobos here eventually but that doesn’t mean you’ve got to live like ‘em yourselves!”

 

Zack and Cloud exchanged an amused  
look.  “We’re going to furnish the hayloft,” explained Cloud, “it isn’t like we’d be sleeping in straw, Reno.”

 

“What are you gonna do about food, huh?” persisted the Turk.  “How about plumbing?  What, are ya planning to bathe in the pond and shit in the woods?  You guys are taking this ‘roughing it’ attitude too far, man.  I’d rather ya come live with me ‘till your house is built.”

 

“The first thing we’re going to do is have the plumbing put in,” soothed Zack.  “There’s still a working system under the foundation where the old house used to be.  We’ll eventually have electricity too but we can use a generator if we’ve got to.  As for where we’re going to shit, I’ve got no plans on wiping my butt with leaves.  The bathroom’s going to be the first room built and we’re not moving in until it is.”

 

“We can keep a fridge in the barn and catch our own game,” Cloud went on.  “Come on, Reno…you’ve seen me cook over an open fire.  It’s not that hard.  The barn’s just going to be where we sleep until the house is done and like Zack said, the bathroom’s going to be the first room built.  The kitchen’s going to be next and after that, we’ll focus on the laundry room.”

 

“We’ll be fine, Red,” Zack finished with a smile.  “Really.  Stop worrying.”

 

Reno looked at both of them in turn, his mouth twisted with doubt.  “What are you planning on doing about laundry, smartass?” he asked Zack, growing frustrated with their bullheaded insistence on doing this.

 

“That’s what Laundromats are for,” Zack answered dryly, crossing his arms over his chest.  “We’re only a couple of hours away from Junon so we’ll just drive to town a couple of times a week to do our laundry.  I’m going to buy a piece of shit car to fix up for myself in the meantime and when it’s road-ready we’ll use that as the supply and laundry mule.”

 

“You’re both fucking crazy,” Reno sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead.  “Why do ya want to live like that?  You could live with me or with Tifa and Denzel in Edge, but noooo, you guys wanna sleep with the rats and fleas instead!  Just stay in Junon and keep on the payroll, yo.”

 

“We just want to supervise the construction and do some fixing up ourselves,” Cloud said patiently.  “Zack’s going to stay on call with ShinRa for now and I’m going to keep doing deliveries.  I’ve already told Reeve that if something comes up and I’m needed, I’ll go back on active volunteer duty.  I’m not going to take money from the company when I’m not doing anything and unless it’s an emergency situation I’m not going to make myself regularly available.  We should keep enough money coming in to take care of the contractors, that way.”

 

Reno started to open his mouth again but he paused and regarded Cloud thoughtfully.  “How much is this gonna cost, Blondie?”

 

Cloud shrugged.  “The land’s pretty cheap since most people are trying to live closer to civilization these days.  The house is going to be the big money burner.  It’s going to cost us a couple hundred thousand gil to build what we’re thinking of but we don’t have to have two bedrooms and bathrooms right away anyhow.  We want it for Denzel and other guests but we can improvise until we’ve got the cash inflow.”

 

“Hmm.”  Reno scratched his chin and looked at the spot they were planning to build the house on.  “That’s not _too_ bad.  With the right leverage you might have the place done in a year, yo.”

 

Zack crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, having come to know Reno well enough to guess what he was thinking.  “Nuh-uh, Foxy.  You’re not paying for this and I don’t want to hear about our contractors getting threatened by the Turks.”

 

“Who said anything about threats?” Reno said innocently, with a shrug.  “And I didn’t say I was gonna pay for _all_ of it.  I might as well pitch in though.”

 

“There’s no need for—” Cloud started, but Reno interrupted him.

 

“Look Strife, I’m gonna be staying here sometimes too and I’m not sleeping in a damn barn, crapping in an outhouse or sitting around a campfire singing folksongs while I roast some mystery meat over it for my dinner.  I’ve got my own selfish reasons for wanting to contribute and ‘no’ ain’t an option, got it?”

 

Cloud hid a smile behind a cough.  “I should have guessed,” he said apologetically.  “I guess there’s no stopping you.”

 

“Now, wait a minute,” Zack protested, “I’m all for cinnamon buns here to be in on it but I thought we agreed we were taking care of the funding, Cloud.  He’s already got his hands full.”

 

“My wallet’s just fine, yo,” Reno insisted.  “Better than fine.  I’m so freaking busy most of the time I don’t get to splurge what I earn.  The paychecks come out and most of the gil sits in the bank, man.  Let me help with this so you and Blondie can have your dream house sooner and I can come visit without fumigating myself every morning.  The chocobo ranch is all you, I just wanna help put a real house here.”

 

Zack looked at Cloud for support, unable to refute the Turk’s logic.  Cloud shrugged and smiled quietly at Reno.  “If we say ‘no’, he’ll just go behind our backs and front the builders some money.  You know how he is when he wants something, Zack.”

 

Reno nodded enthusiastically.  “He’s right…I will, ya know.”

 

Zack sighed and looked at the redhead with exasperation that was laced with amusement.  “You’re really not going to let this go, are you?”

 

“Nope.”  Reno winked at him.  “I’m not letting my favorite harem boys live like yetis out here if I can help it.”

 

“Yetis?” Repeated Zack with a chuckle.

 

“Favorite?” Cloud said with surprise.  He’d never known Reno to openly express favorites in his circle of lovers before and by the stricken expression that bled into the Turk’s angular features, he was just as surprised by his own admission.

 

Reno averted his gaze and tried to downplay his comment.  “Well, when I say ‘favorite’ I mean ‘most fun’, yo.  I can kick back more with you two and work hardly ever comes into it when we shoot the breeze.”

 

Zack grinned and Cloud gave one of his quiet little smiles.  Reno shifted uncomfortably in the face of their pleasure.  The words had left his mouth before he realized he was speaking them and it sparked a revelation that made his heart slam against his rib cage.

 

_~I’m still Reno, still a Turk.  Yeah, things have changed but that doesn’t mean I’ve got to.~_

The thought tasted like a lie to him.  He _had_ changed, whether he wanted to or not.  The devotion he’d once only harbored for his organization and the president had extended outside the circle and enveloped Cloud and Zack.  He was a creation of poverty, abuse, determination and passion.  While the events that had shaped his life hadn’t changed, his attitude had.  Sometimes innocent people got wrongly punished and sometimes the guilty got away.  He was one of the “guilty”, himself.  Things that used to not even make a blip on his radar kept him awake at night sometimes.  It didn’t stop him from doing his work but it certainly made it harder and for the first time he suspected Cloud and Zack both saw that.  He wondered if any of his other companions noticed it, or if the two of them were only able to spot it because they were more familiar with the workings of the conscience than the other Turks and Rufus were. 

 

“Wow, you’re deep in thought,” Zack commented.  He reached out and stroked Reno’s hair, his playful expression sobering with concern.  “Are you okay, Reno?”  Beside him, Cloud also looked worried.

 

_~Fucking boyscouts.  It’s all your fault.~_

He knew that wasn’t true, though.  It wasn’t their fault anymore than it was the fault of the elements for corrosion on a car engine.  If the owner didn’t practice maintenance on the engine and keep it clean, it was his fault when it stopped running properly.  The weather and time might have caused the corrosion but the owner allowed it to settle instead of cleaning it off.

 

_~Here I go with the car comparisons again.  Once a mechanic, always a mechanic.~_

Reno started grinning, feeling a bit better.  Yes, he’d changed a bit in the way he thought and how he did things, but the core of who and what he was still remained intact.  He gave his lovers a leisurely scan, admiring both of them and taking further comfort in the fact that there weren’t many people that could boast a collection like his.

 

“I’m fine, man.  I’m just doing some number crunches in my head and working out what it’s gonna take to get this place livable, yo.”  He checked his wristwatch and sucked his teeth.  “We’re going to have to head back to town soon.  I’ve got some things I’ve still gotta take care of and I don’t want to get Tseng on my ass…at least not in the way he’ll be if I don’t do my job.”

 

Cloud nodded.  “Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.  Thanks for coming out here with us and being supportive, Reno.”

 

The redhead shrugged and turned to head back to the chopper, throwing a wink and a smile over his shoulder at Cloud.  “I just don’t want to sleep in a barn when I come to visit you guys, yo.”

 

Cloud started after him but Zack caught hold of his arm and stalled him.  “Hey Cloud, there’s something I want to ask you.”

 

Cloud stopped and Reno tactfully kept walking, to give the two of them a little privacy.  The blonde looked up at his taller lover and he saw the tension lurking in Zack’s blue-violet eyes.  “What’s up?”

 

“I…I think…before we get started on this, there’s something I should do.  I need help from you and Cissnei though, if she’s well enough to do it.”

 

Cloud caught on to what he was hinting at and his features softened.  “You want to visit your parents.”  It wasn’t a question.

 

Zack nodded and lowered his eyes.  “I just need someone they know to talk to them first…you know, to ease them into it so I don’t scare them to death.”

 

“You know I’ll help,” Cloud soothed.  “It would be easier with Cissnei there since she knows them better than I do, but if she’s not up for it I can do it alone.  I don’t think they even know you died, Zack.  You know the media never announces things like that and ShinRa obviously never bothered to contact them and tell them they killed their son.  All we’ve got to do is explain why you haven’t been in touch with them for so long.”

 

“Well, I don’t know what they’ve heard and what they haven’t,” Zack sighed.  “I haven’t had the chance to talk to Cissnei about that and ask her what she’s told them.  She’s had her own problems to deal with and I wasn’t about to hound her with mine, but I think she’s well enough for me to talk to her about it now.”

 

“We’ll go see her together when we get back,” Cloud said.  “If she’s up for it and we can get the doctors to give her a pass, we can figure out how we want to deal with this and ask Reno to fly us there when he has the time.”

 

“Thanks, buddy.” Zack said with relief.  He gave Cloud a brief, appreciative kiss before the two of them followed Reno back to the helicopter.

 

~*******************************************~

* * *

 

As planned, they visited Cissnei first when they got back.  She told Zack she hadn’t informed his parents of his death so as far as they knew, he was still missing in action.  She said she’d be happy to come with them for a visit, though she couldn’t stay on her feet for very long without getting tired.  They organized a two-day leave for her over the weekend and made plans with Reno to take the trip to Gongaga. 

 

Meanwhile, Rude was moving steadily along in his relationship with Genesis.  On the days he clocked out early enough, he went to the training facility to pick the redhead up.  He took him apartment hunting and helped him get settled in at his new place, which was a few blocks away from Rude’s apartment.  Reno only saw him when they went on assignments together but he didn’t mind, knowing that his partner was happy.  Few things could upset the redhead when it came to his lovers getting what they wanted, but at the end of the week he was getting ready to turn in a report to Rufus and as he entered the president’s office, he overheard the last part of the conversation he was having with Tseng.

 

“I’ve spoken with a doctor about amputating it and having reconstructive surgery afterwards,” Rufus was saying as Reno walked through the door.

 

Reno dropped the folder he was carrying and he stared at his boss, aghast.  “You’re getting rid of the tail?  You can’t!”

 

Rufus broke off his conversation with Tseng and looked at the redheaded Turk levelly.  “And what makes you believe you have any authority over what I do or don’t do with my own body, Fox?”

 

Reno struggled for words, at a loss.  Finally, he went with what he knew.  “Don’t you like the things that tail does for you, boss?”

 

Rufus appeared to consider the question.  “I must admit, there are some sexual benefits,” he agreed.

 

“There’s also your exceptional balance,” Tseng added, no happier over the prospect of his lover removing the tail than Reno.  “You enhancements won’t vanish with the tail but the appendage _does_ provide a counterweight that allows you to leap onto things that would otherwise send you toppling.”

 

Rufus sighed.  Both of his Turks made a good point and he couldn’t refute that.  Honestly, he wasn’t as eager to have the tail removed as he was before.  He’d gotten used to it and he knew it would feel strange to not have it there anymore.  The recovery was going to be painful as well.

 

“How seriously do you think people are going to take me when they discover I have a big cat’s tail?” Rufus said in a tired voice.

 

“If it was some other guy I’d say you’ve got a legit worry there,” Reno countered, “but you’re Rufus Shinra.  A tail isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference.  If anything it might even make you more imposing to some folks.”

 

Tseng nodded with agreement.  “I share Reno’s feelings on the matter.  You are a man that people know to take seriously and I sincerely doubt the presence of a cougar tail will decrease people’s respect for you.”

 

Rufus regarded both of his subordinates slyly.  “I suspect you both have your own reasons for protesting my decision.”

 

Reno and Tseng glanced at one another.  The Wutaian kept a straight face but Reno smirked helplessly and shrugged. 

 

“He’s onto us, yo,” said the redhead.  He sobered and looked at Rufus again.  “Look, I’ll admit I had a lot of fun playing with it and you’ve got even more staying power than before.  There ain’t no dispute, the tail’s made the sex even hotter with ya, boss.  It’s not just about that, though.  If it was causing problems for you I’d understand but so far, that thing’s been nothing but handy and not just in the bedroom.  Think about it; if you’d been kidnapped while ya had that tail, you might have even gotten away on your own.  I know getting rid of it won’t muck up your new senses but like Tseng says, the tail’s there for a reason.”

 

Rufus clasped his hands together on the desk and he nodded with a thoughtful frown.  “You’ve certainly said a mouthful, Reno.  I’ll give it more time before I make the final decision.  Would that please you?”

 

Reno’s head bobbed as he nodded enthusiastically.  “Yes Sir, it would.”  _~And I think with a little more time you’ll get even more attached to your tail and ya won’t be so willing to get rid of it.~_

“I think that’s a wise decision, Sir,” agreed Tseng.  His stance relaxed a bit, giving away the tension he’d been hiding before.

 

“Well, now that we have that settled,” Rufus said dryly.  Tseng’s relief wasn’t lost on him and he found it frankly amusing.  “Reno, you can give me your report now.  After that, we can all go home for the night.”

 

Reno handed the paperwork over, thankful to have it out of his hands.  The paperwork was his least favorite part of the job.  He despised doing it, in fact.  Over the years he’d learned to be more professional about it and save it for later if his mood was too bad for him to do it properly.  Rufus looked it over and Tseng read over his shoulder.  Evidently, they were both satisfied with it and Rufus opened a drawer and placed it in there.  Just as the president stood up, Reno remembered something else he’d meant to say to his superiors.

 

“Oh yeah, Rude’s going on call for me this weekend,” explained the redhead.  “I’m taking Zack to Gongaga to see his parents and Cloud and Cissnei are coming too.”

 

“I see,” Rufus answered.  “I suppose it’s past time for them to know that he’s alive.”

 

“If Cissnei feels strong enough for the journey, I see no problem with it,” Tseng commented.

 

“I’ve already talked to her and she wants to go,” Reno shrugged.  “She kind of misses Zack’s folks.  They unofficially adopted her, I guess.”

 

“It makes perfect sense,” Tseng said softly.  He quietly regretted the life that the organization had pushed on Cissnei.  As if being an orphan wasn’t hard enough without being yanked out of the foster home to become a trained killer, whether she wanted to or not.  Tseng had many secret regrets, but he gave away none of them.

 

~***********************************~

* * *

 

Tseng flew Tifa and Denzel back to Edge just before the weekend.  She and Cloud agreed that it was best for him to go back to his normal life, with his regular school and friends.  He exchanged phone numbers and email address with some of the new friends he’d made in Junon but he wasn’t unhappy to be leaving.  He seemed a little sad that Cloud wouldn’t be going back with them but he understood that his adopted father figure and Zack had their own lives to start together, and he knew that there would be plenty of visits. 

 

The day after Tifa and Denzel left, Reno checked Cissnei out of the medical ward and got the chopper ready.  Zack and Cloud met them at the airport with their packed duffle bags and Reno noticed the added pallor to Zack’s face.

 

“What’s wrong, Wolfy?” queried the redhead as Cloud put their bags into the cabin.  Cissnei was already on board waiting.  “I thought you’d be excited about seeing your folks again, yo.”

 

“I am,” Zack acknowledged.  “I’m also scared shitless.  What am I going to say to them?  Mom’s going to be so pissed off that I haven’t contacted them in all these years.”

 

Cloud paused and looked over his shoulder at his lover.  Zack’s concerns weren’t unfounded, he knew.  When Cloud had spoken to them last, they thought Zack was just blowing them off and his mother hadn’t been very happy about it.

 

“We’re going to stick with the story,” Cloud said.  “Cissnei told them she didn’t know where you were and it’s not exactly a lie for us to say you were in a coma.  I mean, that’s practically the way it was when Hojo had us anyhow.”  He hopped out of the cabin and put a hand on Zack’s shoulder.  “Everything’s going to be fine.  I’ve got a feeling they’re just going to be happy to see their son again.”

 

Zack took a deep breath and nodded, forcing a weak smile.  “Thanks, Goldie.  You’re right, I wouldn’t be lying to them…just leaving out the part about being dead and coming back.  I’m ready to go.”

 

 Cloud and Reno stepped aside to let the sable-haired fighter climb into the cabin.  On impulse, Reno pinched his ass as he passed and Zack jumped a little and grinned over his shoulder at him.

 

“Couldn’t resist,” Reno smirked.

 

~****************************************~

* * *

 

“Okay, I’ll come pick you guys up again in a couple of days,” Reno said as the chopper touched down.  “Come here, Blondie.”  He reached across to the copilot seat and cupped the back of Cloud’s head, pulling him towards him for a deep “goodbye” kiss.

 

“You could stay with us,” Cloud murmured after they broke apart again.  “We could book a room at the Inn so we aren’t crowding Zack’s folks.”

 

Reno considered the offer, his blue-green eyes scanning the dense jungle forest.  After a moment, he frowned and shook his head.  “Nah, I’ll pass.  It’s too hot and humid here for my blood and ya know I’ll get bored and start driving you crazy before we’ve even been here a day.  Besides, his parents know you and Cissnei and I don’t think a Turk would be well received, man.”

 

“They don’t know about the Turks,” Cloud argued.

 

“Sure they do,” Reno scoffed.  “Even country people know something about us, Strife.  It’s not like they don’t get TV reception or the news out here in the boonies.”

 

“I guess so,” Cloud sighed.  Reno made a good point…he _would_ get bored here.  There wasn’t much to do in Gongaga and as much as Cloud wanted to include Reno in this, he could tell that the Turk didn’t feel alienated.  “I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know how it goes.”

 

“Talk to ya then, Cloud.”  Reno turned in his seat and pushed the door open that led from the cockpit to the cabin.  “You getting your stuff together, Zack?” He called.

 

“Yeah, I’ve got it handled,” Zack said as he dragged the three bags out of the cargo compartments.  “Cloud, can you grab these bags while I get Ciss into her wheelchair?”

 

“I can walk,” protested Cissnei.  “Not for long, but I don’t need the chair right away.”

 

“By the time we make it to town, you’ll be exhausted,” Zack told her firmly.  “You can walk once we get there.  You know it’s kind of a hike through the forest.”

 

Cissnei sighed, forced to concede the point.  Cloud got out of the front and came around to open the door and take the luggage from Zack.  After the black-haired fighter got the wheelchair onto the ground and set up, Cissnei allowed him to carry her out of the cabin and place her into the chair.  Once everyone was out and they had all of their belongings, Cloud shut the cabin doors and the copilot door with a little wave at Reno.   

 

“At least let me wheel myself,” the Turk girl protested when Zack started to push the chair.  He chuckled and let go, letting her push herself forward beside him and Cloud. 

 

Reno waved at them from inside of the chopper and the rotaries increased in speed to lift the vehicle back off the ground.  They watched him lift off and turn the chopper around back the way they had come from.  As the chopper flew away, they started toward the path leading into the forest.  The air was rather thick and it only seemed to grow thicker the further in they went.  Cloud wondered how in the world Zack could have had an active lifestyle as a kid in this humidity.  He’d grown up in the colder climate of Nibelheim and the humid warmth of Gongaga was uncomfortable to him. 

 

As they walked, Cloud noticed that the heat was bothering Cissnei as well.  Like him, she had a sheen of perspiration on her skin and she took out a handkerchief from her vest pocket and began to wipe the sweat from her face.  While he was glad he’d worn a muscle shirt, a sleeve would have been handy for him to wipe his face off.  He glanced at Zack and shook his head with a wry, quiet smirk.  Zack was hardly sweating at all and he was breathing the damp air easily.  The taller man noticed Cloud’s gaze on him and he looked back, frowning a little when he saw the way his lover’s hair was dampened with sweat.  He heard Cissnei panting softly and saw that she was equally sweaty, so he stopped.

 

“Let’s take a little breather and have some water,” Zack suggested.  He dropped his duffle bag and opened it, searching for the insulated bottle he’d put in there.  “It should still be pretty cool.  I stuck it in the freezer last night, so it was frozen through when we left this morning.”  He slid the bottle a little way out of its insulating jacket and nodded with satisfaction.  “Yup, there’s still a chunk of ice floating in there.  Here Cissnei, ladies first.”

 

She was too thirsty to turn the offer down.  She took the bottle gratefully and unscrewed the cap, drinking with sharp thirst.  She made herself stop after several swallows but when she tried to hand the bottle to Cloud, he shook his head.

 

“You’re still thirsty,” the blonde said with a little smile.  “Drink your fill, first.”

 

“I don’t want to go through it too fast,” she argued, “we’ve still got a ways to go.”

 

“Don’t worry about it,” insisted Zack.  “I put another bottle in Cloud’s bag, so we’ve got plenty to last us ‘till we get there.  Drink as much as you need, dollface.”

 

She shrugged and took several more swallows, thinking cool water never tasted so good.  She much preferred the drier heat of Costa Del Sol over the humidity of Gongaga but she was eager to see Mr. And Mrs. Fair again, so it was worth the discomfort to her.  She went through a fourth of the bottle before she was quenched.  She handed the bottle to Cloud with a nod and he took it and drank just as thirstily as she had.  Zack went last and he only needed a few swallows.

 

“Feel better now, guys?” Zack questioned as he replaced the bottle in the duffle bag.

 

They both nodded and just as Cissnei was about to start pushing herself again, she noticed a huge spider on the sleeve of her shirt and she shrieked so loud it startled both of her male companions into swearing.

 

“Ugh, get it off!”  Cissnei hopped out of her wheelchair and shook her arm wildly, spinning around in a panicked circle.

 

“It’s okay,” Cloud said as he caught her by the shoulders.  “It’s gone…I think you scared it more than it scared you.”

 

“Not likely!” Cissnei disagreed shrilly.

 

Zack covered his mouth to stem his laughter as the girl looked herself up and down, her brown eyes huge in her petite face.  When she saw that the spider was indeed gone, she heaved a sigh of relief and sat back down in the wheelchair, breathing heavily.

 

“It’s just a bug,” Zack chuckled.  “Nothing to freak out over.”

 

Cissnei and Cloud both looked at him and their eyes shifted to something behind him and widened. 

 

“Would you say _that_ bug is nothing to freak out about?” Cissnei gasped as she pointed.

 

Zack whirled around to find himself face-to-face with something that resembled a giant preying mantis.  It was a head taller than him and he recognized the species.  He gave a shout and hopped away as it lunged at him, reaching for the sword strapped to his back as he went.  Cloud likewise drew his weapon and Cissnei reached for the gun concealed under her vest.

 

“ _This_ bug’s something to freak about,” Zack confirmed with a grunt as he dodged a stream of sticky goo that the creature spit at him.  “Stay back while Cloud and I take care of this ugly guy, Ciss.”

 

“I don’t have to get close to use my gun,” she informed him as Cloud closed in and she took aim and fired before he got in her way.  The shot was true and the insect staggered as green blood splattered from the hole Cissnei had blown in its thorax.  Zack took advantage of the distraction and swung at one of its flailing pincers.  His sword rang against the hard exoskeleton, not penetrating but bludgeoning enough to make the insect forget about going after Cissnei and focus on him, instead.  Cloud leaped and swung his weapon at the same time, striking the bug on the other side.

 

“It’s going to take a little extra force to put the hurt on him,” Zack grunted as his second blow was deflected again.  “His shell’s too hard.”

 

Cloud jumped away and clicked the catch on his sword to form it into a thicker weapon.  Cissnei fired another couple of rounds, one of which went shy of its mark and the other ricocheted off the hard surface of the creature’s exoskeleton.  Zack cut loose with a mighty series of blows, forcing the mantis back off the road and cracking its shell in a few places.  Cloud followed up with a violent strike and his thicker weapon did a lot more damage…in fact, it worked a little _too_ well.  He broke the thorax open and Zack took the brunt of the resulting spurt of bug guts.

 

“Oh, man,” Zack gagged as he kicked the dying bug’s mandibles away from his leg with his combat boot.  “Gross!  I’m going to see my parents for the first time in years, covered in bug goo!”

 

“Couldn’t make it cleaner,” Cloud defended.  “Sorry you got most of the goop, though.”

 

Zack wiped at his now-slimy shirt with a disgusted grimace.  “I think I’m just going to take this off,” he said.  “Hopefully it’ll wash out.”  He unbuckled his scabbard and dropped it to the ground so he could get the shirt off. 

 

Neither Cloud nor Cissnei protested when the dark-haired swordsman stuck his weapon in the dirt and pulled his shirt over his head.  They were both a little disappointed when he dug through his bag and produced a clean shirt to put on, rather than just going bare-chested.  Zack noticed the looks on their faces and he chose not to tease Cissnei over it.  Cloud, however, was fair game.

 

“What’s the matter, chocobo?  Don’t like the shirt I picked out?”  Zack grinned playfully at the blonde as he tugged the wine-colored crew shirt down, hiding his chest and stomach from view.

 

“It’s fine,” Cloud mumbled, his cheeks flushing lightly as he averted his sapphire eyes.

 

Zack kept smirking at him as he buckled his scabbard back on and replaced his sword.  He searched through his duffle bag for the plastic bags he’d brought for food disposal until they reached town.  After getting one out, he balled up his soiled shirt tightly and slipped it into the bag with a grimace.

 

“I hope Mom’s washing machine still works,” Zack muttered.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

“Cissnei!”  Mrs. Fair had a delighted expression on her plump face when she answered the door to find Cloud and Cissnei standing there.  “Isn’t this a great surprise!  You haven’t written or called in a while and we were starting to worry about you!”  She frowned at the wheelchair.  “What _happened_ to you, dear?”

 

“I was in a car accident,” Cissnei fabricated with a smile.  “I’m getting better though.  I can walk, I just get tired fast.  Do you remember Cloud, Mrs. Fair?”

 

The woman looked Cloud over and nodded.  “I do remember you, young man.  It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  Around four years, I believe.”

 

“Yes Ma’am,” Cloud agreed politely.  “My friends and I stopped through here.”

 

“Who is it?” Called a rough male voice from deeper inside the house.

 

“It’s our wayward Cissnei,” answered Mrs. Fair over her shoulder.  “She brought a friend with her!”

 

“Well don’t just stand there, woman…invite ‘em in!”

 

Mrs. Fair chuckled at her husband’s gruff response.  It was just an act and most townsfolk knew it, though she wasn’t sure the young man at Cissnei’s side could tell if the frown on his face was any indication.

 

“He’s really just a sweet old fart,” Mrs. Fair assured Cloud.  She stepped aside and motioned to them.  “Come on in, you two!  Cissnei sweetheart, I’m sure you could use some rest after hiking your way here!  I’ll get some iced tea for you.”

 

“Just a moment,” Cissnei pleaded, “there’s something we need to tell you first.”

 

The older woman stopped and looked at both of them.  “Are you two getting hitched?”  She guessed.

 

“Uh, nothing like that,” Cloud said hastily.  “You see Mrs. Fair, the last time we saw each other, you and your husband asked if I knew your son, remember?”

 

She nodded.  “Yes, and you said you’d never heard of him.”  Her expression was slowly becoming suspicious.

 

“I actually did know him,” Cloud tried to explain.  “I was just…my memories were damaged back then.  I’d had Mako poisoning and I really didn’t remember Zack until much later.  The thing is…”  He trailed off and bit his lip, at a loss for how to continue.

 

Cissnei picked up for him.  “The thing is, Cloud was with Zack when he went missing,” explained the Turk.  “Both of them were in critical condition and they were taken to a confidential medical facility.  Only a few people knew about it and Zack…well, he stayed in there after Cloud got out.”

 

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Mrs. Fair said faintly.  There was a light of hesitant hope in her eyes and she was tense with anticipation.  “Did you find out what happened to my Zackary?”

 

“Yes,” Cissnei confirmed gently.  “Mrs. Fair…he never wrote because he was in a coma for years.  He only recently woke up and, well…”  She looked up at Cloud and nodded, and the blonde stepped aside.  Standing several feet behind him was Zack.  The black-haired man gazed at his mother eagerly and he wore a slightly sheepish expression on his handsome face.

 

Mrs. Fair stared at her son and her lower lip trembled as he approached slowly.  “Zackary?”  She whispered.

 

Cloud moved further aside as Zack approached the open doorway and smiled down at his mother.  “Hi Mom,” Zack murmured.  His throat felt tight and he knew it wasn’t going to take much for him to start crying.  “How’s your pottery going?”

 

With a soft cry, Zack’s mother lunged at him and hugged him tight enough to squeeze the breath from him.  “Oh, my baby,” she whispered brokenly.  “We didn’t think we were ever going to see you again!  How long have you been out of your coma?  What happened?  Did they do something to you while you were under?”

 

“I’ll tell you all about it after we get inside,” Zack said with a broken little laugh.  He looked up and saw his Dad staring at him and he swallowed.  “Dad?  Don’t freak out, okay?  It’s me.  I don’t know how much you heard but I just woke up from a coma.”

 

“Who said I was freaking out?” Mr. Fair answered.  His eyes devoured Zack with the same parental love his wife’s had.  “Come here, boy.  Give your old man a hug.”

 

Zack grinned.  “Yes, Sir.”  He walked into the house and embraced his father.  While Mr. Fair still had all of his hair, his body was thinner than Zack remembered.  “How’s your health, pop?” Zack murmured as they hugged.  His father was patting his back and running his hands over his shoulder blades, which made Zack frown in confusion.   

 

“Oh, can’t complain,” answered Mr. Fair.  He pulled back and turned Zack around in place.  “You’re taller than you were when you left, son.  So, where are your wings at?”

 

Zack froze and so did Cloud and Cissnei.  The three of them stared dumbly at one another while Mr. Fair crossed his arms over his chest and waited for an answer.

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued


	36. Chapter 36

“Alliance”

Chapter 36

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“Uh,” Zack said stupidly, looking warily from his companions to his father.  “Beg pardon, sir?”

 

“One of the neighbors has the internet,” explained Mr. Fair.  “A while back, he showed me this clip he found on one of those home movie sites.  This young fellow with wings rescued another fellow in Junon and someone caught the whole thing on video.”

 

Zack chuckled nervously.  “It must have been someone else you saw Dad…and it was probably just special effects.”

 

The older man shook his head stubbornly and peered up at his son with crafty eyes. “I thought the same thing too, but now that I see you in the flesh again I’m sure it was you.”

 

“What are you going on about?” Zack’s mother huffed in confusion.  “You saw our son on a film clip and you never told me??”

 

Mr. Fair winced.  “I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to get your hopes up.  It _was_ you though, wasn’t it?” He looked at Zack again, his features stiff with determination.  “It wasn’t just some fellow that looked like you.”

 

Zack lowered his eyes and nodded.  “I didn’t think you’d ever see that clip, since it took so long to convince you just to get a television.”

 

“I don’t understand,” his mother cut in with growing alarm.  “What are you talking about?  How long have you really been out of your coma, son?”

 

“A while,” admitted Zack softly.  He cast a guilty look at his mother and sighed.  “I couldn’t come and see you right away because we were in the middle of a crisis.  I’m working with ShinRa again and we’ve just come back from Icicle after a long fight against a terrorist army.  Besides the fight against Deepground, I didn’t know what you’d heard and I was kind of afraid I’d scare you both to death if you thought I was dead and I just showed up on your doorstep.”

 

“I think we need some coffee,” Mrs. Fair said faintly.  For the first time, she noticed that her son looked exactly as he had before he’d left Gongaga.  Shouldn’t he have aged at least a little?  And what was this about wings?

 

“That’s a good idea, Mom.  I’ll tell you everything when the coffee’s ready.”  Zack’s smile was the same kind, lighthearted one she remembered and she relaxed a little.  Whatever her son had been through, whatever changes had occurred in him, the old Zack was still in there somewhere.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

Cloud stayed utterly silent as he sat down beside Zack on the couch.  The black-haired fighter explained things with Cissnei’s help, leaving out the part about him falling to ShinRa bullets.  Cloud was afraid he’d say the wrong thing and give something away if he added his input so he only nodded now and then in agreement.

 

“So Cloud came out of it first and it was some time after that that he met you two on his way through here,” Zack explained.  “He didn’t know I was still in the lab until the WRO found me when they investigated it.  I’ve been on their team ever since.”

 

“Thought you said you were working with ShinRa,” Mr. Fair pointed out with a frown.

 

“ShinRa, the Turks and the WRO are an allied force now,” Cissnei explained gently.  “ShinRa funds the entire thing.”

 

“So this coma was artificially induced?” Zack’s mother asked with a frown.  “What did those scientists do to you while you were in their hands?”

 

“Don’t worry,” Zack hastily reached across to the armchair she sat in and took her hand reassuringly.  “I’m fine now.  I’ve got a clean bill of health and other than a few enhancements, I’m still me.”

 

Mrs. Fair examined her son, her eyes going to his shoulders.  “What about the wings, dear?  Can you…show them to us?”

 

Zack nodded slowly.  “You have to promise you won’t freak out, okay?”

 

“I promise,” she said solemnly.  “If you had just shown up with them right away I might have panicked, but I’m expecting them now.”

 

Zack was satisfied with her answer and he looked to his father.  “What about you, Dad?  Do you think you’re ready for this?”

 

“I’ve already seen it,” he shrugged.  “I’m not going to keel over on you, son.”

 

Zack nodded and pulled his shirt off.  He’d only packed regular shirts because he honestly hadn’t intended to show his parents the wings while he visited.  He thought he had enough control over them now to get through the weekend without allowing them to manifest.  He resisted the urge to smirk as Cloud’s bright eyes followed his motions helplessly.

 

_~Too bad we’ll have to keep the fooling around to a minimal while we’re here.  Even if I do get the courage to come clean about my love life to my folks, we’re not going to have much privacy for nookie.~_

He finished removing the shirt and stood bare-chested before his waiting parents.  With a bit of concentration, he let his wings come out and he closed his eyes and winced, waiting for a scream or a curse of disbelief.  When he heard nothing but swiftly indrawn breath, he cracked an eye open and looked down at his parents, sitting side-by-side in their cushy armchairs.  Both of them were staring at him with undisguised awe on their lined faces, but they didn’t appear to be afraid.

 

“May I?” Zack’s mother said as she hesitantly began to reach out.  Zack nodded and smiled at her, turning a little to give her better access to his wings.  She stroked them slowly and admired the sweeping white expanse of them.  “And you can really fly with them?” she asked a moment later.

 

“Yes Ma’am,” Zack nodded, shooting a grin over his shoulder at her.  “I’m not half-bad at it, either.  It was a little bumpy starting off but I think I’ve got it down pact now.”

 

“Well son, that’s…that’s amazing,” Mr. Fair said with honesty.  “Maybe you can give your old man an air show tomorrow, eh?”

 

“Anything you want, Pop,” Zack chuckled. 

 

“I wonder if your children would have these,” pondered Mrs. Fair as she pulled her hand away from the wings.

 

Zack winced and exchanged a look with Cloud.  Cissnei also looked a bit uncomfortable but it wasn’t her place to say anything about Zack’s relationship status. 

 

“Um, about that,” Zack began uncomfortably as he pulled his wings back in and pulled his shirt on.  “Children aren’t really in the cards, Mom.”

 

She frowned.  “What do you mean?  You’ve brought your little girlfriend with you…I thought that meant the two of you are starting where you left off.”

 

“We were never officially dating,” Cissnei explained softly.  She blushed, embarrassed that she’d given his parents the impression that Zack was her boyfriend over all these years.

 

“I’ve gotten involved with someone else,” Zack added as he sat down beside Cloud.  The blonde looked utterly horrified when he put a hand on his knee and squeezed it, right there in front of his parents.

 

“What are you doing?” Cloud muttered out the side of his mouth as he pushed at the hand squeezing his knee.

 

“It’s cool,” Zack muttered back.  “They’ve gotta find out and I’m not going to act weird or ashamed about it, kid.”

 

Zack’s father was eyeing both of them and his hazel eyes settled on the hand that Zack had placed on Cloud’s knee.  The significance of the gesture wasn’t lost on him despite his old fashioned ways.  Cloud’s face became a charming shade of pink and Mr. Fair noticed that, too.

 

“Well, he blushes like a lady,” the older man grumbled.  “But son…we thought you liked apples…know what I mean?”

 

Mrs. Fair was slower to catch on and she looked from her husband to her son with evident confusion.

 

“I do like apples,” Zack agreed with a nod.  “I like them a lot.  It’s just…I like oranges too, Sir.”

 

Finally getting what was happening, Mrs. Fair gave a little startled gasp and stared at the way her son was squeezing his blushing blonde companion’s knee.  “B-but Zack…you know we love you regardless, but we’d rather see you choose one or the other,” she said as tactfully as she could manage.  “You could make yourself sick if you eat too much of both.”

 

Zack pinched his lips to hold back a laugh.  He cleared his throat after a moment and rubbed Cloud’s knee gently, despite the blonde’s uncomfortable squirming.  “Don’t worry, I’ve decided which one I’m going to stick to.  Uh, unless something goes wrong it’s just oranges for me now, you know?”

 

“But oranges can’t give me grandchildren,” sighed Mrs. Fair in disappointment.  She didn’t seem angry or alarmed so much as unhappy with the prospect of never being a grandmother.

 

“Some apples can’t give grandchildren either,” argued Zack.  He grimaced as soon as he said it and shot an apologetic look at Cissnei—whose fertility had been destroyed by the assault on her body.  “I mean, nobody can tell whether they can have kids together until they try anyway, Mom.  All of the experiments and treatments done on me probably made me sterile anyhow.  I’ve never had it checked but I know it’s a pretty common side effect of Mako enhancements.”

 

“You’re both…safe, aren’t you son?” asked his father.  Mr. Fair wasn’t happy about the lack of grandchildren in the future either but he knew Zack had a good point.  The treatments that young men went through in the SOLDIER program were nothing to brush aside and he couldn’t imagine Mako infusions being good for a man’s sperm count.  He chose to focus on more immediate concerns.

 

“We’re safe,” Zack confirmed.  “We’re careful and we’re happy together.  Cloud and I are going to buy a place between Midgar and Junon.  You’d both like it; it’s out in the country and there’s a pond and acres of land.  We’re thinking about raising chocobos there, someday.”  He was talking too fast and he knew it.  His country accent was returning full-force as he rushed to explain things to his folks.  He never would have said his parents were prejudiced against gay people but he couldn’t be sure they’d accept their own son being one of them.

 

“Well son,” began Mr. Fair thoughtfully, “I know combat can bring men closer together, so I guess I’m not that surprised.  We’ve got some retired military folk around here that think of their comrades as family.”  He looked Cloud up and down, taking in his youthful features and pretty blue eyes. “Guess you could have done worse,” he muttered in closing.

 

“I think I left something outside,” Cloud murmured.  He tried to get up but Cissnei grabbed one of his arms and Zack grabbed the other before he could get off of the couch, effectively holding him down. 

 

“Here, drink your coffee,” Cissnei ordered briskly as she reached for his forgotten cup on the nearby coffee table and handed it to him.  “I’m sure you didn’t leave anything outside, Cloud.”

 

“Don’t let us frighten you away, dear,” sighed Zack’s mother.  Her eyes were kind on the blonde.  “Naturally, we’re a bit shocked but we’re just happy that our boy is alive and well.  Please, stay with us while Zack visits.  You’re all welcome in our home.”

 

“You mean that?” Zack asked with delight.

 

“Of course I do,” she answered with a little smile.  “You’re our boy and nothing’s going to change that.  We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

 

Zack lunged across the distance and impulsively hugged her slight frame.  “You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say that,” he whispered as she hugged him back.

 

~*******************************~

* * *

 

After having supper, Mrs. Fair washed Zack’s soiled shirt for him, despite his protests that he could do it.  She refused to wash it with the other clothes because the bug filth might not come off and could contaminate other clothing articles.  They had some tea and chatted together before the night grew long.  The sleeping arrangements were a little tricky but Zack refused to let a lady sleep on the couch.  He insisted that Cissnei sleep in his old bedroom while he and Cloud took the fold-down couch.

 

“I don’t know about that, son,” his father mused as he watched Zack spread a sheet over the futon and dump a couple of pillows his mother had brought out on top of it.  Thankfully, Cloud wasn’t close by to hear the conversation.  He was on the back porch with Cissnei and Mrs. Fair.

 

“What do you mean?” Zack asked, pausing in his work to look at him quizzically.

 

“I’m not so keen on the thought of you two sleeping together,” the older man explained.  “You know we don’t approve of unwedded fooling around, boy.”

 

“Uh, Dad…we’re a couple of guys,” reminded Zack with a smirk.  “There’s never going to be such a thing as ‘wedded’ fooling around for us, unless you can convince the laws to recognize marriage between a pair of guys as legit.”

 

Mr. Fair frowned deeply.  He really hadn’t thought of that and now that his son was one of the people affected by societal gender expectations, he realized there wasn’t really a way to be fair about it.  “Would you marry him if you could?” he asked uncomfortably. 

 

“In a heartbeat,” Zack answered without hesitation.  “See this ear stud?”  He showed his piercing to his father, who looked less than thrilled but was clearly trying to be open-minded.  When the older man nodded, he went on; “Cloud picked it out for me.  I guess you could say we’ve already sort of made our vows to each other, even if we didn’t exchange rings or sign an official document.”

 

“Then I guess you’re about as ‘married’ as you’re ever going to be,” sighed Mr. Fair.  “I’m still not too comfortable with it, but I’m not going to tell you not to sleep next to him.”

 

“We’re not going to fool around,” Zack promised with a blush.  “Even if Cloud _was_ a girl and we _were_ married, I couldn’t do that under my parents’ roof.”

 

“Oh, well good.”  Mr. Fair didn’t try to hide the relief in his voice.  The last thing he wanted was to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and catch the boys doing things he’d rather not think about.  He was still reeling from surprise and until he got more used to this relationship his son was in, his understanding could only stretch so far.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

“You didn’t tell them about Reno,” Cloud said softly as the two of them settled into the makeshift bed together, after everyone else had gone to sleep. 

 

“I know,” Zack sighed.  He put an arm around Cloud and pulled him closer.  “I just couldn’t.  They’ve had three shocks already today and I didn’t want to lay that much out so soon.  I’m lucky they accepted you…who knows how they’d have reacted if I told them I was eating two oranges at the same time?”

 

Cloud huffed a laugh.  “I guess you’re right.  I was sure your Dad was going to flip out when you started squeezing my knee.”

 

Zack’s response to that was to reach down under the covers and give his rump a squeeze.  “If I really wanted to freak him out I’d have done this,” he said with his customary, wolfish grin.

 

“Cut it out,” Cloud grunted as he tried to pry the other man’s hand off his ass.  “This isn’t the place for that sort of thing.”  He looked at his lover’s face in the dim moonlight and despite his protests, his heart rate picked up.  It wasn’t easy being a prude with such a good-looking guy hitting on him.

 

“Relax, chocobo-head,” Zack chuckled.  He nuzzled Cloud’s neck and resumed embracing him around the waist.  “I’m not going to jump you while we’re under my parents’ roof.  Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a little grope in the dark before bedtime, though.”

 

“I’ll give you a grope,” Cloud mumbled.

 

“Whoa!”  Zack jumped a little as his companion’s hand sought out his groin and squeezed it through his pajama pants.  “Now who’s the pervert, here?  You just one-upped me on inappropriate touching, Goldie!”

 

Cloud put a hand over Zack’s mouth and cast a nervous look around the small living room, sure that the other man’s exclamation was loud enough to disturb his parents’ sleep.  “Shhh, you’re going to have them coming down here to check on us if you don’t keep your voice down!”  He whispered harshly.

 

Zack smiled behind the blonde’s muffling hand and gently disengaged it.  “We’re not a couple of kids having a slumber party, Cloud.  You act like we’re going to get a spanking or something.”

 

“I just don’t want them catching us doing something we shouldn’t be doing in their home,” Cloud huffed.  “I’m sorry I groped you.  It was just a spur of the moment thing but I didn’t think you’d yelp like that, okay?”

 

Zack shrugged.  “You can grope me like that anytime you want.  You’re just too easy to pick on, is all.”  He finished the sentence with a smirking kiss that made Cloud forget whatever he was going to say in protest.  “Goodnight, Cloudy.”

 

“G-goodnight,” Cloud stammered.  He shifted a little in an effort to keep his pelvis from pressing against Zack’s body and giving away the affect that their little play session and subsequent kiss had on him.  He failed to do so and he grumbled with annoyance when Zack’s body shook with soft laughter.

 

“It’s not funny,” Cloud whispered, “and it’s your fault I’m like this.”

 

“You’re right, the boner’s not the funny part,” Zack murmured into his ear, making him shiver.  “It’s the way you’re trying to hide it from me that’s cracking me up.  Damn, that shy streak of yours is cute.”  He nibbled the lobe of the ear he was speaking into, playfully catching the wolf’s head earring between his teeth and tugging it.  Cloud squirmed and made a soft sound of distress and Zack chuckled again and kissed him on the mouth.

 

“Okay, I’ll stop playing.”  Zack pulled back to look into Cloud’s glittering eyes, detecting the rising lust in them.  “You’re kind of hard to resist sometimes, sexy.”

 

“Keep it up,” Cloud warned in a low voice.  “I’ll drag you out the front door and into the forest if you push me too hard.”

 

“Mmm, me like,” Zack purred.  He brushed his lips softly back and forth over Cloud’s and the blonde gasped and groped his package again.  Zack kept forgetting how spontaneous Cloud could be and it was a delight to be reminded now and then.  “Would you really drag me out into the woods to have your way with me?”  His breath caught at the end of the sentence as his lover’s hand massaged his hardening groin.

 

“You’re going to find out if you don’t stop teasing me,” Cloud said with utter sincerity.  “I’d rather we got through the weekend without pawing at each other like a couple of animals but you’re pushing it, pal.”

 

“Says the guy that’s rubbing my crotch.”  Zack grinned again when he felt the heat radiating from his companion’s face that could only mean he was blushing.  He pressed against Cloud’s hand and sighed, sliding his own hand down low on the blonde’s back to cup his bottom again.

 

“Okay, we’ve got to quit,” Cloud announced breathlessly…but his hand remained where it was and Zack’s continued to fondle his backside.  When the larger man’s hand slipped around to the front and into his pajama pants, Cloud groaned softly.  Zack started stroking his erection with gentle, steady motions, his warm breath quickening against Cloud’s lips.

 

“How about we just pet each other a little while we go to sleep?” Zack suggested huskily.

 

“Can’t do that,” Cloud panted with a shake of his head.  He started humping Zack’s gripping hand instinctively while at the same time, he began to return the favor.  “I’m going to come if you keep doing it,” he finished.  He started kissing the other man’s neck while he burrowed his hand into his pants and gripped his cock.

 

“You keep arguing about it but I don’t see you stopping,” Zack reminded him.  He swallowed a moan of pleasure.  Cloud was right, of course.  There was no way they could just “pet” each other without making a mess and the temptation to get some lube and finish what they’d started was growing stronger by the minute.  Reluctantly, Zack stopped fondling his smaller companion and he eased Cloud’s hand out of his pants.

 

“Sorry Cloud,” Zack apologized softly.  “I’ll admit I started this but you’re right; I don’t think we’ll be able to stop if we keep going.”

 

Cloud nodded wordlessly.  He was afraid if he tried to speak right now it would just come out as a frustrated howl.  Instead, he snuggled close to Zack and rested his cheek against the smooth skin of his chest.  He loved to hear the sound of the other man’s heart beating…it was comforting to him.  Zack’s arms went around him and he rested his chin on the crown of his head.  Sleep was a bit difficult to come by for both of them at first but eventually, their bodies calmed down and they drifted off together.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

The rest of the visit went smoother than Cloud thought it would.  Zack showed off his flying abilities for his father in a little clearing not far from town.  He almost did it right there in the village but his mother tactfully reminded him that the townsfolk might not handle the sight of a winged, flying man very well.  Cloud expected all kinds of covert looks of judgment from Zack’s parents but they seemed content just to know their son was alive and happy.  Mrs. Fair even took a liking to Cloud by the end of the weekend.  She told Zack as much while he and Cissnei were helping her hang laundry.

 

“’Cloud’ is a really unusual name,” she said conversationally as she glanced at the blonde.  He was out of earshot, near the front of the house helping her husband chop wood.  “I assume it’s not so uncommon in Nibelheim?”

 

“Yeah,” agreed Zack.  He took the other end of the sheet Cissnei was holding and helped her fold it once before hanging it on the line.  “Nibelheim wasn’t a bad little town.  They had some weird customs but the place had some charm to it.”

 

“Why are you talking about it in past tense?” Mrs. Fair raised an eyebrow at him as she pinned a shirt to the line.

 

Oops.  Zack had forgotten that ShinRa covered up the destruction of Nibelheim.  All his parents knew was that he and Cloud got hurt in the reactor and taken into the lab.  Most of the world didn’t even know about that fight, in fact.

 

“I guess I just think of it that way because of bad memories,” Zack improvised when Cissnei gave him a warning look.  “I liked the place up until I ended up in a test tube.”

 

“And after all this time, you two are together,” Mrs. Fair observed with a little smile in Cloud’s direction.  “He’s a quiet fellow for certain, but he’s polite and really sweet.  I can see why you’re so attached to him.”

 

Zack’s lips quirked as he thought of some of the things Cloud muttered at night after everyone went to bed.  His mother might not think Cloud was so “sweet” if she’d overheard him threatening to drag her son off into the woods.

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

There was a motive behind Mr. Fair asking Cloud to help him chop wood, instead of asking his own son to do it.  He wanted a little more time alone with the blonde to make sure Zack wasn’t making a mistake.

 

“So you want to raise chocobos, son?” Zack’s father asked as he piled some wood onto the wheelbarrow.

 

“I’m hoping to someday, Sir.”  Cloud was a little surprised by the familiar way the man was speaking to him…almost as if he were family.  He almost missed his mark as he went to split another log and he grimaced and hoped Zack’s Dad hadn’t noticed the slip.

 

“Do you know anything about chocobos?” persisted the older man.

 

Cloud paused and smiled a little, nodding.  “I raised some for a while, sometime after I stopped through here for the first time.  I had to rent the stables for them, though.”

 

“Well that’s good,” approved Mr. Fair.  “I’d hate to see someone trying to raise animals if they don’t know what they’re doing.  Too many accidents could happen.”  He noticed how much Cloud was sweating, despite the blonde’s lack of complaints.  His fair skin was flushed from the heat too.  “I think we’ve got enough wood now.  You look about ready to catch fire and Zack’ll have my hide if you have a heatstroke.”

 

“I’m okay,” Cloud protested softly, but Mr. Fair shook his head and took the axe from him.

 

“You’ve chopped plenty.  This is the hottest time of the year and even people who were born and raised here can’t work in the heat for long without getting sick.  Go inside and get cleaned up, boy.”

 

Cloud nodded and did as he was told.  Mr. Fair watched him go and his wife came up beside him from the other end of the yard.

 

“So?  Are you happy yet?” She persisted in a low voice.

 

“He’s a good kid,” he admitted.  “Hard worker, good manners…I can’t find a damned fault with him except that shell he’s got around him.”

 

“I’m sure Zack’s already wiggled his way inside of it,” Mrs. Fair guessed.  “I sure do wish he was a girl, though.  I thought for sure he’d settle down with sweet little Cissnei someday but I guess that’s not going to happen.  I know Zack might not be able to have little ones of his own but I’d at least like the chance of grandchildren.”

 

Mr. Fair put an arm around her.  “I know.  Can’t always get what we want, though.  He seems happy enough so let’s just leave it at that.”

 

~*************************************~

* * *

 

“Now you remember to _call_ us when you get settled in at your new place,” chastised Zack’s mother as she and her husband walked them to the path leading out of the village.  “I don’t want to spend another slew of years not knowing if you’re alive or dead!”

 

“I promise, Mom.”  Zack smiled at her and swallowed a lump.  “When we get the place set up, I want you and Dad to come visit.  We’ll send air transportation to make the trip easier for you.”

 

“Maybe you should ask your partner first, before inviting us to come and stay,” Mrs. Fair reminded with a meaningful nod at Cloud.

 

“No need, Ma’am,” Cloud assured her.  “It’s kind of a given that family’s always welcome.”

 

_~I just hope Zack finds a way to tell you about Reno before then.~_

“Well then come here and give me a hug,” she insisted, holding her arms out. 

 

Cloud predictably blushed and complied, hugging the woman awkwardly while Cissnei and Zack looked on with amusement.  Zack’s father was more reserved about saying goodbye to him and he shook his hand before hugging Zack and Cissnei.

 

“You get better soon, girl,” he said to the petite Turk.  “Watch those city drivers from now on.  Some of ‘em would run over their own grandmother in their rush.”

 

“I will,” she promised as the embrace ended.  She exchanged a hug with Zack’s mother before seating herself in her wheelchair. 

 

Zack hugged his mother tightly before reluctantly pulling away.  He waved at his parents and started down the path leading into the jungle with his companions.  Cissnei protested when he started pushing her chair but Zack leaned over and muttered that if his parents saw him letting an injured lady wheel herself, they’d come up behind him and kick him in the pants.  With a little sigh, the Turk allowed him to push her until they were out of sight of the village.  Fortunately, they didn’t run into the bug problems they’d experienced on the way in.

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

Reno was already there with his chopper when they made it out of the dense forest.  The engine was off and he was standing by the pilot door having a cigarette.  He spotted them coming out and he waved and put his cigarette out before jogging over to them.

 

“Guess I should have given it more time before I headed this way to get ya,” Reno said.  “I’ve been here for more than a half hour, yo.”

 

“Sorry about that,” Zack apologized.  “I should have reminded you it takes a while to get through the jungle.  Thanks for bringing us here and picking us up, man.”

 

Reno shrugged and walked alongside them back to the chopper.  “Don’t worry about it.  So how’d the visit go with your parents?  Did they flip when they saw ya or what?”

 

“They were surprised, but I found out Dad already kind of knew I wasn’t dead.  One of the neighbors showed him that clip of us.”

 

“The first thing he asked was where Zack’s wings were,” confirmed Cloud with a smirk.  “I’ve never seen Zack go so pale before in my life.”

 

“Well it was creepy!” the black-haired fighter said defensively.  “I mean, my parents aren’t into computers so I didn’t count on either of them getting on the web and seeing that clip.  It was like my Dad had psychic powers or something and it floored me for a minute.”

 

“His mother didn’t know about it,” Cissnei added.  “She handled it pretty well when he showed them to her, though.  When he spilled the beans about him and Cloud I was a bit worried, but they took that in stride, too.”

 

“Well, I didn’t tell them the _whole_ truth,” Zack muttered uncomfortably.  He stopped and shifted on his feet.   

 

Reno paused and turned to face him.  Zack looked suspiciously guilty and Cloud just looked nervous.  “What’s wrong?  What did you leave out that has ya both looking like scolded cubs?”

 

“I was afraid to give them too many shocks in one visit,” Zack admitted.  He looked at Reno with apologetic, blue-violet eyes.  “They took it pretty well so I didn’t push my luck.  I never told them about you.”

 

Reno shrugged.  “Hey, I never told my Ma all the details about my relationships.  Sometimes you’ve just gotta play it cool and keep some things to yourself.”

 

Cloud and Zack looked at one another before the latter spoke up again.  “The thing is, I’ve got to tell them sooner or later.  They’re going to be visiting us sometimes and so are you.”

 

“You don’t have to tell ‘em,” Reno argued.  “We’ll just make sure I don’t come visit at the same time.  It won’t hurt my feelings ‘cause I know I’m not the best at being discreet, yo.”

 

Zack shook his head.  “No.  I’m not hiding you from them and that’s that.  I’m just going to have to find a way of telling them without just blurting it out.  Maybe once they get more used to the idea of me being with a guy in the first place, they’ll be more understanding that I’m with two.”

 

Reno sighed and gave Cissnei an almost pleading look. 

 

“I’ll just get into the chopper and let you guys talk,” she said tactfully.

 

“Thanks, doll,” Reno said.  He caught Zack by the arm as the other man moved to follow her.  “Where do you think you’re going, Wolfy?  The lady can get in by herself and we’re gonna have a little talk before we head back to Junon.”

 

Cloud grimaced, guessing where this was going and knowing that the opposing personalities of his two lovers were about to clash.  He dropped his duffle bag and sat down on it, waiting for it to be over with.

 

“You got real lucky your parents accepted Cloud,” Reno started.  He held up his hand when Zack opened his mouth to interrupt, “Those people come from a different generation than us, Zack.  My own Ma was one of the sweetest, un-judgmental people I knew but she grew up in a different world than me.  I never told her I was screwing both my bosses, my partner and Strife because I knew that no matter how much she loved me, she might not be able to handle it.”

 

Reno stepped closer to Zack and stared him in the eye.  “If you think there’s a chance you could fuck up your relationship with your parents by telling them about the three of us, _don’t do it._   Take the chips you’ve won and be happy with ‘em because you’ve only got one Ma and one Dad, and they ain’t gonna be around forever.  What they don’t know about us isn’t going to hurt ‘em and by the sounds of it, you might be better off that way.”

 

A smirk grew on the redhead’s lips.  “Besides, I’m not like Cloud.  It makes sense that they’d like a do-gooder like him but if you try to bring home a hood like me, they might disown ya.”

 

Zack was taken aback by the unexpected speech.  He smiled at the last part and sighed.  “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; you’re lying through your teeth when you say you’re selfish, Red.”

 

Reno snorted.  “Think I wanna listen to you moaning about being disowned?  Face it Zack, I’ve got my _own_ reasons for giving you the clue bat and saving myself from hearing you whine is one of ‘em.”

 

“If you say so,” Zack shrugged.  He picked up his duffle bag and winked at the Turk.  “This isn’t over.  I’m going to take your advice for now but some day, I’m going to tell them the truth.”

 

“Fucking boyscout,” Reno grumbled, rolling his eyes.

 

“Are we done yet?” Cloud muttered crossly.

 

“Yeah, we’re done Blondie.”  Reno offered a hand to Cloud and helped him to his feet.  “Get that sweet ass in the chopper so we can go home.  I wanna enjoy you both while I’ve still got you in civilization with me.”

 

Cloud and Zack shared a look and Reno groaned.  “What now?”

 

“I think someone needs a camping trip,” Zack said thoughtfully.  He grunted as he shouldered his bag.  “What do you think, Cornflower?”

 

“I think so too,” agreed Cloud.

 

“Now they want me to go camping,” Reno snapped.  “Well, to quote my partner; _‘Oh, hell no’._   Forget it, guys.  You’re not making a country mouse outta me.”

 

“We’re not trying to,” argued Cloud. 

 

“We just think it would be good for you to see it’s not as bad as you think,” added Zack.  “Come on, Reno…just give it a try.  We could go in a couple of weeks, after Cloud and I have things set up in the barn.”

 

“I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation,” griped the Turk.  He looked at his lovers sidelong as they walked together.  Both men were staring at him and though their faces were very different from one another, somehow they both managed to pull off the same identical “puppy eyes”.

 

“Damn you two,” Reno groaned.

 

Zack and Cloud smiled.

 

“It’ll be great,” Zack promised.  “We’ll just pick you up a straw hat and some buckwheat to chew on and you’ll fit right in with us.”

 

~*********************************~

* * *

 

-To be continued

 

 

 

 


	37. Chapter 37

“Alliance”

Chapter 37

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“Ah, Reno.”  Rufus greeted when the redhead walked into his office two days after bringing Cloud, Zack and Cissnei home from Gongaga.  “I was just about to call for you.  You’ll be happy to know that I’ve decided to keep the tail, after all.”

 

Reno looked to Tseng, who was sitting on the other side of Rufus’s desk going over some paperwork.  “Is he serious?” he asked the Turk leader hopefully.

 

“Yes, I believe we’ve managed to talk him out of amputation,” Tseng replied without looking up from the documents he was scanning.

 

“That’s great,” Reno said with marked enthusiasm.  “Glad you changed your mind, Sir.”  He scratched his arm and frowned.  He hadn’t seen much of his superiors or Rude lately.  Everyone seemed to be pairing off and too busy to make time for each other the way they used to.  “Uh, I actually came to talk to Tseng about getting a little time off in a couple of weeks.  When I didn’t find him in his office I figured I’d find him here.”

 

Tseng looked up from his paperwork and turned around in his seat.  He’d detected the awkward note in Reno’s voice and he guessed it had something to do with the amount of time he spent with Rufus lately, though he didn’t understand why that would bother him.  He looked at Rufus and he saw by the narrowing of the president’s eyes that he’d also detected the undertone.

 

“Why don’t you have a seat, Kitsune,” suggested Tseng politely.  “I think before we discuss this, we should go off the record and talk about why you seem uncomfortable, though.”

 

Reno swore softly.  He was hoping they wouldn’t notice the strain in his voice but they’d all known one another for too long for him to easily mask it.  He closed the door behind him and crossed the room, taking the seat beside Tseng and looking at both him and Rufus respectively.

 

“I don’t know how to say it,” Reno finally said after a few frustrated moments of trying to gather his thoughts.  “Except, everything’s changing.  You two are basically exclusive now, Rude’s with Genesis and I’m spending most of my free time with Cloud and Zack.  What the hell’s happened to us?”

 

Tseng waited to see if Rufus wanted to answer first but the blonde gave him the nod to go ahead.  “Reno, nothing has _‘happened’_ to us except for time and changing circumstances,” the Wutaian explained.  “Rufus and I work late almost every night and so do you and Rude.  At the end of the day we’re all so exhausted, we barely have time for more than a bath and dinner.”

 

“And we don’t _all_ have boundless energy supplies,” Rufus added with a crooked smirk. 

 

“Not even _you_ have inexhaustible reserves,” Tseng observed, his dark brows drawing together with faint concern as he looked the redhead over.  “Have you even noticed the dark shadows lining your own eyes, Reno?”

 

Reno shrugged uncomfortably.  “Okay, I’ll admit I’m tired…I’m tired most of the time but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you guys.”

 

“It doesn’t mean that for us, either,” Rufus informed him.  “It only means that just as the company has changed its priorities, we need to shift ours a bit as well or drive ourselves into exhaustion needlessly.  What’s changed is that we’re all beginning to settle.  Even you.”

 

“What do ya mean, ‘settle’?” Reno scoffed.  “I’m not pairing off with anyone.”

 

“But you _are_ grouping off with Cloud and Zack,” reminded Tseng.  “It’s become a regular thing for the three of you to sleep either in one of their suites together or meet up at your apartment each night.  Can you tell me they aren’t the first of your lovers on your mind when you clock out?”

 

“I…I guess,” Reno admitted reluctantly, “but that’s because I’ve kind of felt like a third wheel with the rest of you guys.”

 

“That isn’t true and you should know better,” Rufus said firmly, his eyes flashing a little with annoyance.  “Choosing a more steady partner—or in your case, more than one—just makes things easier at the end of the day.  Can you honestly sit there with those tired eyes of yours and tell me you aren’t a _little_ weary of all the running around?”

 

“No,” Reno snapped quickly…too quickly.  He sighed.  “Okay, maybe sometimes it gets a little hectic but I’m not willing to give any of you up.  So, what are ya trying to say here, boss?  Are you breaking up with us or something?”

 

He asked the question in such a plaintive, vulnerable tone that Rufus’s cool mask cracked and he sighed, scooting his chair back.  “Come here, Reno.”  It had been a long while since the two of them had cuddled together in his office chair, and they’d never done it in front of Tseng or anyone else before.

 

Reno stared at him for a moment before getting out of his chair and complying.  He was more upset than he’d thought and all he’d really come here to do was request a few days off to go camping with Cloud and Zack.  He eased into the chair, straddling Rufus’s lap the way he used to.  Tseng got out of his chair and came around the desk.  The next thing Reno knew, he was sandwiched between the two of them; seated on one’s lap while the other stood close behind him and stroked his hair fondly.

 

Rufus reached up and traced the crescent tattoos over Reno’s cheekbones as he gazed into his eyes.  “You are,” he said softly, “and you always will be, my Fox.  That won’t change even when we’re feeble old men…provided we live that long.  Yes, we’ve been doing things our way for so long that it’s hard to imagine it any other way.  However, there are more important things to consider now than our own pleasures and in order to take care of them, we have to make some sacrifices.”

 

“It doesn’t mean that we have to give up our lifestyle entirely,” agreed Tseng.  “It only means that we can’t be as wild and unrestrained with it, Kitsune.  None of us are as young as we used to be.”

 

“We’re only pushing _thirty_ ,” argued Reno.   

 

“Be that as it may, we can’t continue going on as if we’re twenty,” Tseng continued firmly.  “Nobody has suggested we break it off with one another.  What’s actually going on is as Rufus said; we’re settling with those we spend the most time with.”

 

“Agreed,” Rufus commented.  “And I think if you really gave it some thought, you’d agree as well, Reno.  If I could have it my way, I’d spend all of my time in the hot tub with the lot of you, or keep you leashed by my side, wearing that outfit of yours that drives me bloody insane.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do that so I’ll settle for periodic visits, rather than everyday occurrences.”

 

Reno calmed down a bit, though he was still unhappy with what he was hearing.  He’d just gotten over his identity crisis and convinced himself he wasn’t changing all that much.  Now his whole world was changing and he couldn’t stop it.  What he hated even more was the fact that part of him agreed with what Rufus and Tseng were trying to say.  Trying to juggle everybody on top of everything else that was going on was starting to feel like a job in itself.  He had to admit it was a little bit of a relief to be able to just go home to Cloud and Zack, without feeling any pressure or wondering if he was cutting into their plans.

 

“Never would have thought I’d feel so damned comfortable with a pair of boy scouts,” Reno muttered. 

 

“I think we’ve all found ourselves doing things differently and feeling things we didn’t expect,” Tseng murmured with a smile.  “It’s affected us all, but it doesn’t mean things have to end.”

 

“Absolutely,” Rufus agreed. 

 

“Okay, if you two promise you’re not blowing us off, I guess I can live with it,” Reno sighed.

 

Rufus chuckled.  Reno was probably the only one of all of them that hadn’t changed much at all, despite everything he’d been through.  “And not long ago, I was afraid that you’d leave us,” he murmured.

 

“Proved ya wrong, baby.”  Reno managed a playful grin.  “So now that I’ve acted like a big brat that needs his Ma to show him there aren’t monsters under his bed, I should probably ask Tseng about that vacation time I was after.” 

 

“You sound strangely unenthusiastic about said vacation time,” Tseng observed.  “May I ask why that is?”

 

Reno rolled his eyes and exhaled, blowing some wild strands of hair out of his eyes.  “Zack and Cloud want me to go camping with ‘em in a couple of weeks.”

 

Tseng and Rufus exchanged a look of surprise.

 

“Camping?” echoed the Wutaian, “You?”

 

“Oh, the things we do for love,” Rufus added dryly.  “You hardly set foot outside when we were in Healin.  I’d love to be a fly on the…tent…”

 

“Okay, okay…ha-fucking-ha,” Reno grumbled.  “The street rat’s going into the mountains…laugh it up.”

 

“If a Turk falls in the woods and there’s nobody around, will he make a sound?” pondered Tseng with an impressively straight face.

 

“If the Turk is Reno, he’ll make enough sounds for all nearby communities and some cities miles away to hear it,” answered Rufus with a snort.

 

“I’m not _that_ loud,” protested the redhead through twitching lips.

 

“Why do you think half of the building knows when you visit my office for…special reports, hmmm?” Rufus was giving him a sly smirk and he began to unbutton the redhead’s shirt.

 

“Maybe I need ya to refresh my memory, boss.”  Reno’s body immediately responded to the tantalizing way Rufus was looking at him and flicking the buttons open on his shirt.  Rufus and Tseng looked at one another and the Wutaian immediately pushed the automated locking mechanism under Rufus’s desk to ensure nobody would walk into his office to disturb them.  Rufus in turn paused to reach around the lean Turk straddling his lap to push the intercom button.

 

“Hold my calls and see to it that I’m not disturbed for an hour,” Rufus ordered the secretary.

 

“ _Two_ hours,” insisted Reno as he nibbled the blonde’s ear. 

 

Rufus grinned.  “Make that two hours,” he revised over the intercom.  He clicked the button again and he and Tseng commenced with proving to Reno that while the circle of lust wasn’t as wide as it used to be, it was by no means closed.

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

Nearly three hours later, Reno was heading down to the suites floor to have a shower in Cloud’s room.  The elevator stopped a few floors before his stop and when they opened, he found himself face-to-face with Rude.  Reno smiled at him as he stepped inside and he noticed he’d selected the same floor.  He guessed he was going to meet Genesis at his suite.

 

“So what have ya got planned tonight?” Reno asked conversationally.  “I guess you and your phoenix have something going on?”

 

“Yeah,” Rude mumbled.  He said something else and Reno leaned closer to hear it.

 

“Wait a minute,” the redhead sputtered, thinking he’d misheard.  “Did I just hear ya say you’re going to see ‘Loveless’ on stage?”

 

Rude nodded and cleared his throat.

 

Reno gave a low whistle and he couldn’t restrain a laugh.  “Oh man, you must really have it _bad_ for that guy!”

 

“Yeah?  I know another redhead that makes me do some pretty stupid things,” Rude said with a sidelong look at him.  He leaned closer and murmured, “Guess what his name is?”  His arm went around Reno to give him a squeeze.

 

Reno gave him a sharp look.  “Rufus and Tseng talked to you, didn’t they?”

 

Rude frowned.  “About what?”

 

The redhead relaxed, feeling his spirits lift.  “Nothing man…it’s not important.  I hope Genesis appreciates what you’re doing for him, yo.”

 

“He’s going to a boxing match with me next week,” informed the bald man with a slight smirk, “so yeah, I think he appreciates it.”

 

Reno laughed again.

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

The plans for the camping trip got held by a couple of weeks, due to a bit of trouble with the plumbing under the foundation.  Some of the pipe work had to be replaced before the bathroom could be built, which delayed Cloud and Zack’s plans to move in.  The one thing they were both adamant about was that they had a working bathroom before moving in.  Reno was thankful for that, though he still thought it was crazy for them to have to walk to the under-construction house from the barn every time they needed to use the bathroom or get cleaned up.

 

In the meantime, they continued to live in the Headquarter suites. Now that Weiss and the rest of the remaining Deepground members were safely incarcerated, there wasn’t a lot for them to do.  Cloud started to transport some of his belongings from Edge to Junon, in preparation for their move to the land they’d purchased.  He took odd delivery jobs now and then but for the most part, he and Zack moved back and forth between their soon-to-be home and the city, moving things in bit-by bit, purchasing odds and ends and cleaning up the barn for habitation.

 

On the plus side for Reno, they were always close by.  They always either slept in the suite they shared or stayed overnight at his place.  He was grateful for that because he was still trying to figure out what he was going to do when they were living out in the boonies and he didn’t have a sure thing to go home to each night.  He’d never gone without at least one option for company available to him since he first joined the Turks and he knew it was going to be hard to adjust, even if things weren’t actually “ending” between him and the others.

 

The good news was that it wasn’t going to cost as much to have the house built as they’d initially thought.  The contractors said that although the plumbing needed some work, the foundation would be easier to tear down and rebuild than originally assumed.  With a little more financial backing, the house could be completed in six months.  The news of course pleased Reno and he pushed for extra workers to get on the job and paid a little extra without telling Zack and Cloud, so the place could get finished as soon as possible without sacrificing quality in the work.

 

“What they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em,” he reasoned to himself.  “I’ve got the spare cash and they don’t have to know I spent a little extra to put more people on the job.  Hell, they already agreed to let me help.”

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

“That little shit!”

 

Cloud looked up from the blueprints he was studying.  He sat cross-legged on the barn floor and he was trying to decide once and for all whether to put a third bathroom upstairs with the bedrooms, stick with only two downstairs or put one downstairs and one upstairs.

 

“What’s wrong?” he asked Zack as the dark-haired man stalked through the barn door holding a document in his hand.  “Did the bird come after you again?”

 

There was a blue jay living in one of the trees nearby that thought Zack was after her eggs.  He’d flown into the tree that her nest happened to be in to take a break during his exercises earlier in the week.  Now she dive-bombed him whenever he went anywhere near that tree and he’d already come close to getting pecked in the eye once.

 

“No, I’m mad at the rooster, not the damned bird,” Zack grumbled.

 

Cloud blinked at him.  “There’s a rooster?  Where?”  He looked around suspiciously and listened for telltale clucking or crowing.  He hadn’t seen any chickens roaming anywhere but it wouldn’t have surprised him if there were some that got left behind when the previous land owners vacated.

 

Zack’s temper cooled in the face of amusement.  “I’m talking about Reno,” he elaborated.  To be fair, he’d only called the Turk a ‘rooster’ once, after that stunt he’d pulled on top of the ShinRa building when Zack first tried out his wings and Cloud hadn’t been present when he’d used the nickname.

 

Cloud sighed.  “What did he do?”

 

Zack squatted down across from him and held out the document in his hand.  “Take a look at that.  The little sneak’s been paying extra gil behind our backs to put more workers on the job.  I thought we had more guys than the contract called for and when I asked the foreman about it, he said he had the papers to prove we paid for them.”

 

Cloud took the paper from the other man’s hand and examined it.  He saw the documented payment in question and found Reno’s familiar, scrawling signature at the bottom.  A tiny smirk curved his lips.

 

“Looks like he didn’t cover his tracks very well,” Cloud said.  “Maybe he wanted us to find out.”

 

“Or he thinks we’re both really stupid,” countered Zack.

 

“I don’t think that’s it,” Cloud chuckled, shaking his head.  “Reno slips up when his conscience bothers him.  Trust me, he didn’t realize he was doing it but he set himself up to get caught.”

 

“You sound pretty sure of that,” Zack said, cocking his head thoughtfully.  “I guess you do know our wily fox pretty well.”

 

“I guess so,” Cloud agreed.  He looked a little surprised by the admission himself.  “Hmph…I never realized how _much_ I’ve gotten to know him until now.”

 

“So Reno accidentally-on-purpose set himself up to get caught?” Zack still sounded a little dubious.

 

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Cloud shrugged.  He told Zack about the time Reno set it up so Cloud could break free of the special manacles Rufus used to subdue him in the limo and how he’d given away the next plot to Cloud when the president went after him again with a fake delivery order.  He told him how Reno had tried to drug his comrades so that they’d leave Cloud alone that night and his plan had backfired on him.

 

“We thought Reno accidentally dosed the two of us too,” Cloud said with a grin.  “It turned out he was just clumsy enough for Rufus to figure out what he was doing and turn the tables on him.”

 

“I remember you telling me about some of this stuff,” Zack said.  “I’ve got to admit, it seems kind of strange for a professional Turk like Reno to forget to cover his tracks.  What a weird way to practice some morals.”

 

“That’s Reno for you,” Cloud shrugged.  “You can always figure out if something he’s doing really bothers him by whether he makes mistakes and how obvious they are when he does.”

 

Zack’s anger with the Turk faded and he remembered a conversation he’d had with Cloud about Reno not so long ago.  People did what they had to for survival and Reno had grown up in a harsher world than he and Zack.  His line of work didn’t allow room for morals, until recently.  He was just trying to help and he’d already warned Zack he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.

 

“Why didn’t he just talk to us about this, instead of sneaking around?”  Zack wondered aloud.  “We already told him he could help pay for the house and he knew we didn’t want him putting out any more extra than he already was.”

 

“That’s why he did it behind our backs,” Cloud guessed.  “Since the figures aren’t coming out as high as we thought they were going to, I’ll bet he was counting on us not noticing the extra gil put into it.  If he was really worried about getting caught, he’d have paid the money under the counter and told the foreman to keep his mouth shut.”

 

“Makes a weird kind of sense,” Zack shrugged and got back to his feet with a grunt.  “The mind of Reno sure is a tricky thing.  I still think we should confront him about it.”

 

“If you want to,” Cloud shrugged.

 

Zack looked down at him with a frown.  “You’re pretty nonchalant about this.”

 

“I guess I think of this place as being his as much as ours,” Cloud explained softly, lowering his eyes in thought.  “Maybe I’m hoping if he invests enough time and money into it he might want to move in some day.”

 

Zack smiled at him.  “Then I guess we’ll have to try hard to get him to at least like nature a little bit.”

 

~***************************************~

* * *

 

Reno arrived in his car a couple of days after Zack discovered his little secret.  He grimaced as he stepped out of the automobile and put his keys in his pocket.  The frame of the first floor of the house was almost finished and there was indeed a single working bathroom.  The undergrowth around the barn had been cleared away and there was an ugly old truck in the gravel driveway that was primer coated but unpainted.

 

“I guess that’s Zack’s ‘piece of shit fixer-upper’,” grumbled the Turk as he shut his car door and started toward the barn.  He could have gotten Zack a better piece of shit but the fighter had insisted on a truck for hauling purposes.  “If I see either of them sitting on the porch playing a banjo, I’m outta here,” he muttered as he took one reluctant step after another.

 

As he walked closer to the barn, he saw Zack emerge from inside and he felt a little relieved.  The former Soldier looked perfectly normal in a pair of denim pants a t-shirt with a logo and a pair of sunglasses.  His teeth still appeared to be white, straight and fully intact as he spotted Reno and waved at him with a smile.  In fact, he looked gorgeous as always and Reno’s stomach did a little flip as they closed the distance between them.

 

It had only been a few days since he’d last seen his lovers but part of Reno was still stubbornly convinced that living in a barn was going to turn them both into slack-jawed yokels.  He shook his head at his own paranoia and picked up the pace a little.

 

“Yo, I’m here for my incarceration,” Reno said after exchanging a hug with him.  “Any chance I can get out early for good behavior?”

 

Zack lifted his sunglasses to rest on the top of his head.  He gave him a sly look and pulled something out of his back pocket.  It was a sheet of paper and he unfolded it and held it before Reno’s eyes.  “Good behavior?” He repeated as he showed Reno the added gil figures and his own signature. 

 

Reno sucked on his teeth and looked away.  “Yeah, good behavior.  So I helped a little more without passing it by you guys…your house is gonna be finished sooner because of it.”

 

“If you really didn’t see a problem with it, you would have made sure you didn’t get caught,” Zack informed him.

 

Reno chuckled.  “Been talking to Blondie about me, have ya?”

 

Zack crossed his arms over his chest.  “He knows you pretty well.  One thing I don’t get is why you didn’t just talk to us about it if you knew you were going to leave a big fat clue and get caught.”

 

The Turk shrugged.  “It’s my nature, man.  I figure if I’m meant to come clean someone’s going to catch me and confront me.”

 

Zack grimaced and scratched his head.  “Why did I know you were going to say something like that?”

 

Reno laughed and reached out to pat him on the shoulder.  “Looks like you’re starting to know me pretty well too, Wolfy.  So where’s Cloud?  Does he still have all his teeth too?”

 

“Don’t be a doofus,” Zack chastised.  “This camping trip’s going to be fun and you’re going to see for yourself that a little exposure to nature won’t turn a guy into a yeti.”  He scanned Reno’s uniform and his brows furrowed.  “I hope you brought a change of clothes, though.  That’s not the kind of thing you want to be wearing in the woods, foxy.”

 

“Bag’s in the car,” Reno informed him.  “I hope you’re not expecting hiking gear or anything like that, ‘cause all I had were jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes.”

 

“That’ll be fine,” Zack approved.  “Come on, Cloud’s getting some stuff ready inside.  Let’s go get your bag and then we can help Cloud finish up and get the truck loaded.”

 

“We’re going to drive _that_ thing out into the wilderness?” Reno asked with a dubious gesture at the truck in question. 

 

“Yeah…I know it looks bad but it runs okay.”  Zack chuckled at him.

 

“I think you’d better let me be the judge of that, Fair,” Reno said.  “I used to own my own mechanic shop and we ain’t going out in the wilds with that truck until I’m satisfied it’s not going to break down on us.”

 

Zack shrugged.  “Suit yourself.  We can go look at her now if you want.” 

 

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Reno agreed.  “The sooner I’m sure we don’t need more fine tuning or part replacement, the sooner we can get going and get this over with.”

 

“Don’t be so surly,” Zack said, putting an arm around him as they started down the driveway toward the vehicle.  “This is going to be great.”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

“All right, crank it,” Reno ordered.

 

Zack did as he was told and Cloud watched on.  The blonde hadn’t said anything to his dark-haired lover but he was rather glad Reno was having a look at the truck before they started off.  Zack wasn’t bad with mechanics but he didn’t have the Turk’s instincts and Cloud’s forte was bikes.  He would prefer for this camping trip to happen with as few hitches as possible and making sure the truck would get them safely to the location and back without breaking down was pretty important for the enjoyment factor.

 

Reno leaned over the engine and listened with practiced ears.  There was a bit of a rattle that he thought he could fix with a little maneuvering and correct usage of a wrench.  He saw a belt that could use tightening too but it looked like Zack had already put in brand new parts…even though he didn’t secure all of them as well as he could have.  Reno nodded and hollered for Zack to turn off the engine.

 

“I’m going to want a closer look but right now the only thing I think it needs is a tune up,” Reno informed him and Cloud.  “Where do ya keep your tools?”

 

“In the flatbed right in back, under the tarp,” Cloud told him. 

 

“Cool.  I’ll get started on that and then I’m going to check the fluids and have a look underneath, all right?”  Reno looked at Zack and worried a little that he might be hurting his feelings.  “You did a good job on this from what I can see, Wolfy.  I’m just double-checking ‘cause I’m not thrilled about going into the woods in the first place and I don’t want us to get stranded there, got it?”

 

Knowing how rare it was for Reno to consider someone’s feelings so carefully, Zack smiled good-naturedly.  “Thanks.  Hey, I’m not offended, foxy.  I’d rather you have a look at it yourself if it makes you feel a little safer.  I’ve only had the truck for a week so there’s bound to be something I overlooked.”  In fact, he’d only focused on getting the tires replaced and the engine running so far. 

 

~********************************~

* * *

 

“He’s been out there for a while,” Zack observed after swallowing a bite of his sandwich and checking his watch.  “I hope he’s not trying to do a total overhaul.  If we don’t get started soon it’s going to get dark.  Finding a camping spot is going to be a real bitch without some light.”

 

Cloud checked his watch too and frowned.  He couldn’t tell by listening whether Reno was still working on the truck or not.  The sounds of the construction work on the house would have drowned out any noise from his task.

 

“I’ll go check on him,” he said. 

 

He rose to his feet from the picnic blanket laid out on the bottom floor of the barn and started walking toward the main door.  He stopped halfway across the floor when the door opened and Reno stepped inside, looking every bit the grease monkey despite the Turk uniform.  His goggles were pulled down over his eyes, his face had smudges of dirt and oil on it and his sleeves were rolled up.  The redhead stepped into the barn and shut the door behind him, smirking a little at his audience.

 

“Yeah, this suit’s gonna have to go to the dry cleaners when I get back, but the ride’s in good enough shape to see us through this mess.”  He pulled his goggles up and wiped the bottom of his shoes off on the little rug mat by the door before stepping further in.  “Now I’ve just gotta get cleaned up and changed.”

 

“Help yourself,” Cloud invited, gesturing in the direction of the in-progress house.  “The main bathroom’s ready to go and there’s fresh towels in there.  You ought to have something to eat before we head out, though.”

 

Reno studied the food laid out on the blanket with a puzzled frown.  “Where’d you guys get soda and apples from?  I didn’t see a machine or an orchard out here.”

 

“There’s a service station down the road,” Zack laughed.  “Damn Reno…you’ve got a really fixated image of how we’re living out here.  Go have your shower and get some grub before we take off.”

 

Reno huffed a sigh at Zack and leaned close to Cloud before heading back out the door.  “I’m gonna clobber this guy before this trip is through.  You know that, don’tcha’ Blondie?”

 

Cloud smiled quietly and gave him a little nudge.  “Go on…you’ll feel better after you shower and eat.”

 

~**********************************~

* * *

 

A little over a half-hour later, Reno was clean, fed and sporting a pair of worn denim jeans and a button-up shirt.  He tossed his bag into the back of the truck with Zack and Cloud’s belongings and the camping gear and he grumbled as he slid in on the passenger side and scooted over to make room for Cloud.  Zack hopped in on the driver’s side and fastened his seatbelt, shooting a pointed look at the Turk when he noticed he hadn’t done the same.  Reno grumbled again and complied, thankful that at least the interior of the truck was clean.

 

“You know, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you in denim,” Zack said with a lingering glance at the redhead.  “I like it.”  He reached out and squeezed Reno’s knee before turning the key to start the engine.  To his surprise, the air conditioning clicked on as the vehicle started…and it was blowing cool air.

 

Zack paused in the action of reaching for the gearshift and he looked at Reno with an amazed smirk.  “You fixed the air con?  How’d you manage that?”

 

“The compressor just had a little leak,” Reno shrugged.  “I can’t say the heater’s gonna work but I can help you with that before winter comes around.”

 

“You really _do_ know your way around a car,” Zack said.  “I’m impressed.  Thanks, Red.”

 

“I’m traveling in this bucket too,” reminded the Turk in a surly tone, “Figured I might as well enjoy a little air conditioning before we’re squatting in the dirt and spitting tobacco.”

 

Zack and Cloud traded amused, tolerant grins and Zack snapped his fingers as he remembered something.  “Hey Cloud, why don’t you grab that thing under the seat I picked up for foxy?”

 

Cloud looked confused for a moment and then his expression changed as he recalled what the other fighter was talking about.  “I don’t know about that,” he said warily, shooting a cautious look at Reno.  “He’s already on the verge of bolting.”

 

“Come on, you know he’ll love it,” Zack persisted.  “Where’s he going to go?  He’s sandwiched.”

 

“What the hell are you guys talking about?” Reno snapped.

 

Cloud pressed his lips together and bent over, reaching under his side of the seat and searching for something.  “Close your eyes,” he ordered the redhead.

 

Reno regarded him suspiciously.  “Blondie, ya know I’m stretched pretty thin here.”

 

Cloud gave him one of those rare, sweet smiles that made his chest feel warm and his knees weak.  “Just humor me.”

 

Reno groaned softly but he was unable to resist the blonde’s innocent charm.  He dutifully closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.  He heard a rustling sound and the next thing he felt was the sensation of something settling loosely on his head.

 

“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” Cloud announced.

 

Reno did open his eyes and he was startled to find Zack’s face only inches from his, grinning happily at him.  There was a straw brim hanging between their respective faces and Reno immediately guessed what had been placed on his head.

 

“Fits just right,” Zack chuckled.

 

“Goddammit,” sputtered the Turk, reaching up to remove the offensive straw hat from his head.  “I swear if I get fleas or lice from this thing—“

 

“It’s brand new,” Cloud assured him in a voice unsteady with amusement.  “I took it out of the plastic right before I put it on you.”

 

Reno looked back and forth between his two captors, on the verge of becoming livid.  “Think this is funny?”

 

“Nah, just cute,” Zack corrected.  He stopped Reno from taking the hat off and he kissed him hard and deep, interrupting his tirade and sufficiently flustering him.  He released Reno’s mouth after a long, breathless moment and gave him a crooked smile and a wink before putting the truck into gear.

 

Reno gathered his wits and started unbuckling his seatbelt.  “That’s it, I’m outta here,” he grumbled through kiss-swollen lips.  His new hat slipped down over his eyes as he looked down to see what he was doing and his vision became obscured.

 

“You’re not leaving,” Cloud stated firmly, grabbing his hands to stall them.  The vehicle rolled into motion and hit a bump as Zack began backing out of the gravel driveway.  Reno almost fell forward into Cloud’s lap as he struggled against the blonde’s hold on him.

 

“You’ll let go of me if you know what’s good for ya, Strife,” growled the Turk, turning his head blindly in Cloud’s direction.

 

Another kiss interrupted him and this time the lips were both soft and firm at once.  Cloud’s tongue slipped into his mouth and stroked inside leisurely, making Reno forget all about the ridiculous hat and the struggle against the fighter’s calloused hands.

 

“Give us a chance,” Cloud murmured, and Reno could feel his mouth smiling against his.

 

Suddenly Zack readjusted his hat and Reno blinked, caught in the fathomless blue of Cloud’s eyes.  He stared. 

 

_~Fuck, I love those eyes.  Quit looking at me like that, Blondie.~_

“Reno?” Questioned Cloud.  He cocked his head quizzically at the Turk, managing yet again to look so ridiculously innocent and wolf-like that Reno groaned.

 

“All right.”  He meant to grumble the words but they emerged breathlessly as he stared into Cloud’s eyes.  “You two are both gonna owe me something special, blue-eyes.” 

 

He pulled his hands out of Cloud’s and reached up to take the hat off and put it on the blonde’s head.  It pressed the spiky golden hair down, making it frame the blonde’s fair, masculine face in a becoming way.  Reno smirked at Cloud.  The straw hat _was_ kind of cute—at least on Cloud.

 

_~Shit, I’m really doomed with these two.~_

 

The thought didn’t make him any less reluctant when Cloud kissed him again.  He didn’t even get mad when Zack chuckled.

 

~**************************************~

* * *

 

-The End 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
